Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told four Democratic mayors before the Oversight Committee that she would criminally refer them to the Department of Justice for upholding sanctuary city policies on Wednesday.
“To me after this line of questioning, it’s very clear that these policies that you have all implicated are active and alive and well in your cities are in direct violation with Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324 and is a federal offense,” Luna said, referring to a federal law that prohibits bringing in and harboring undocumented persons.
“You all speak about a broken immigration system and yet here you guys are aiding and abetting in that entire process,” she continued. “I do not think you guys are bad people but I think you are ideologically misled which is why, unfortunately based on your responses, I’m going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation and as soon as I leave here, these will be going over to [Attorney General] Pam Bondi.”
“If you guys continue doing what you’re doing, you’re not going to help anyone,” she said, adding that she was not doing this to “bully” the mayors, but believed the policies were hurting the American people.
A criminal referral is a formal notice to the DOJ that a lawmaker or committee believes a criminal conduct may have taken place but it does not mean the DOJ will open an investigation.
Luna made the remarks at a House Oversight Committee hearing featuring Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D), New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), Chicago Mayor Brendan Johnson (D), and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D). All four cities are considered sanctuary cities.
The Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to dealing with “sanctuary cities,” which according to Britannica, generally refers to municipalities that “decline to cooperate completely with federal detention requests related to undocumented immigrants.”
Bondi has already sued Chicago, alleging the city has obstructed the federal government from enforcing immigration laws. Additionally, Bondi issued a memo last month saying sanctuary cities will not have access to federal funding from the DOJ.
