Gov. Kathy Hochul to testify as committee looks at Democrat-led states over immigration policies

WASHINGTON — Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday as the Republican-led panel investigates Democrat-led states with so-called sanctuary immigration policies that limit state cooperation with federal immigration agents.

Hochul will appear alongside Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota in a hearing that comes as the Trump administration has ramped up its mass deportation campaign with recent worksite raids across the country.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R- Ky.) called for Thursday’s hearing months ago — issuing a letter to Hochul, Walz and Pritzker in April, requesting they appear before the panel for questioning.

Hochul spokesman Avi Small said in a statement to Newsday: "Gov. Hochul has voluntarily agreed to appear before the committee and will reiterate what she’s said dozens of times: New York cooperates with federal immigration officials to deport violent criminals, but absolutely does not support cruel actions that tear families apart or rip children away from their parents."

Comer, in a statement released Monday, accused "reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York" of "actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement."

The hearing comes amid a legal battle between President Donald Trump and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom over Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles to tamp down protests objecting to recent immigration raids in the city.

Newsom has sued the Trump administration in federal court seeking to block the use of troops to quell protests, arguing it is "unlawful" and further flaming tensions, but Trump has said he is acting to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing in the case for Thursday.

New York currently has a patchwork of laws and executive orders that limit the state’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies, unless a judicial warrant or judicial order is provided.

In his April 10 letter to Hochul, Comer specifically raised issues with a 2017 executive order signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo that prohibits state employees from providing information "to federal immigration authorities for the purpose of federal civil immigration enforcement, unless required by law."

Thursday’s hearing builds off an hourslong Oversight Committee hearing in March with the Democratic mayors of New York, Chicago, Boston and Denver over sanctuary policies in those cities.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended sanctuary cities as vital for "law-abiding immigrants," saying immigrants "pay billions of dollars in taxes and contribute billions more in spending power to our economy," but also expressed his willingness to work with federal immigration authorities.

"Comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue," Adams said at the March 5 hearing. "While the solution is not within my control, as a mayor, I am committed to working with federal officials — no matter who is president — to go after violent gangs and those who harm residents of our city."

Adams faced criticism from Democrats on the panel, who accused him of agreeing to support the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in exchange for the Justice Department's dropping federal corruption charges against him. The mayor repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether he discussed his criminal charges with Trump and his team, but insisted repeatedly "There's no deal. No quid pro quo. And I did nothing wrong."

The panel includes a number of immigration hard-liners including Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) who are expected to grill the high-profile governors, as Hochul faces reelection next year and Walz and Pritzker continue to be floated as potential 2028 presidential candidates.

"What they're going to try to do is say that all of these governors are soft on immigration," said Christopher Malone, a political science professor at Farmingdale State College in a phone interview. "So for the Democrats, their challenge is to show that they're for public safety, but they're against this heavy handed approach of calling out the National Guard."

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.