Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson joined the Democratic mayors of Boston, Denver, and New York City on Capitol Hill to testify about their respective hometowns’ “sanctuary city” status. By most accounts, Johnson did well. The mayor stayed firmly on message throughout the six-hour grilling by members of the Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He even found an opportunity to deliver his signature catchphrase, declaring Chicago the “Best freakin’ city in the world.”
Johnson wisely declined to take GOP representatives’ bait, instead primarily repeating his talking points celebrating Chicago and detailing declining crime rates. In one off-the-cuff response to North Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who disingenuously asked him whether he hates President Donald Trump more than he loves his country, Johnson replied, “As a son of a pastor, I love everyone, and this country.”
The other mayors variously sparred with or accepted praise from committee members. In response to a question by Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (who was born on Chicago’s South Side) shamed border czar Tom Homan “for lying about [Boston].” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston occasionally engaged in back-and-forths with Republican lawmakers, some of whom hinted at jailing him. New York Mayor Eric Adams, whose federal corruption charges were dropped last month in a move speculated to be tied to an agreement he’d direct NYC authorities to collaborate with immigration enforcement, received a warm reception from Republicans while members of his own party lambasted him.
Besides Adams, all the mayors defended their respective cities’ laws prohibiting local police from cooperating with federal agents on immigration enforcement efforts. At times, Johnson, Wu, and Johnston gave nearly identical responses that asserted their cities were complying with all applicable laws and touted recent drops in violent crime.
Chicago’s so-called sanctuary city status was established by Mayor Harold Washington in a 1985 executive order and later codified into law as the Welcoming City Ordinance. Illinois followed suit with a similar law at the state level with the 2017 TRUST Act. These laws ensure that anyone can report crimes to the police without fear of repercussions due to their immigration status. Trump attacked Chicago for its status during his first term, threatening to withhold federal funds. After the 2024 election, Homan declared Chicago would be “ground zero” for immigration enforcement, and began ramping up operations in January, making a few highly publicized arrests.
The Welcoming City Ordinance has been criticized in recent years amid an influx of asylum seekers sent here by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbot, as well as other cities such as New York (as the Weekly first reported in 2023) and Denver. But it remains an essential part of what makes Chicago, in the mayor’s parlance, the best freakin’ city in the world. Ensuring the security of everyone, undocumented and documented alike, is a key aspect of public safety. It also sends a clear message to the world: that Chicago is great not only because of who we are but because of who we welcome.
Everything dope about America comes from Chicago, as historian Sherman “Dilla” Thomas likes to say—and that’s true because of everyone who has come to Chicago, from the arrival of Haitian trader Jean Baptiste Pointe duSable in the 1780s to the immigrant mother who stepped off a bus this morning. We are the City of Big Shoulders. We must remain a city of open arms as well.
