20 Attorneys General Sue Trump Admin To Shield Recently-Hired Bureaucrats From Being Fired
'They are also against the law'
Sanctuary mayors face DOJ criminal referral for allegedly harboring illegal aliens
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) announced Wednesday her plans to refer several sanctuary city mayors to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation, accusing them of harboring illegal aliens.
Luna shared the announcement during the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s hearing with Democratic Mayors Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver, and Eric Adams of New York City. The hearing was held as part of the committee’s investigation into the impact of sanctuary city policies.
'I just referred the sanctuary city mayors to the Department of Justice for CRIMINAL investigations.'
She opened her remarks by questioning Wu, Johnson, and Johnston about their cities’ sanctuary policies. She did not pose any questions to Adams, who has agreed to work with President Donald Trump, border czar Tom Homan, and the rest of the administration to address New York City’s illegal immigration crisis.
“After this line of questioning, it’s very clear that these policies, that you will have all implicated are active and alive and well in your cities, are in direct violation with U.S. Title 8 code, subsection 1324, and is a federal offense,” Luna told the mayors.
“But you all speak about a broken immigration system, and yet here you guys are aiding and abetting in that entire process,” she continued. “I want to be very clear about something: Open border policies, which is something that you guys are talking about, hurts people on both sides, meaning the people that are coming here illegally and then American citizens as well.”
Luna stated that she does not believe the Democratic mayors “are bad people” but instead that they are “ideologically misled.”
“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 Pam Bondi,” Luna declared, as she held up three apparent DOJ referrals, potentially indicating she may have excluded Adams from the scrutiny.
Several media reports stated that Luna referred all four sanctuary mayors; however, it remains unclear from her direct statements whether Adams was included.
Luna noted that the referrals were not intended to “bully” the mayors.
“But I do believe that your policies are hurting the American people, and you can make that known with the evidence that you could present to the Department of Justice. But if you guys continue doing what you’re doing, you’re not going to help anyone. You’re going to hurt more people, and that’s exactly why I’m tired of it. The American people are tired of it,” she concluded.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) used the remainder of Luna’s yielded time to question Adams about the financial impact the influx of illegal aliens has had on New York City.
Adams explained that city taxpayers have shelled out roughly $6.9 billion in response to the immigration crisis.
“The long-term impact of that is extremely significant,” Adams replied.
After the hearing, Luna wrote in a post on X, “I just referred the sanctuary city mayors to the Department of Justice for CRIMINAL investigations based on evidence from their own comments and policies, proving that they were breaking federal law.”
“Open borders ideologies hurt people on both sides. If you hold federal office and are breaking the law, you’ll be criminally investigated by the DOJ,” she added.
The DOJ and the mayors' offices did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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Jordan slams sanctuary mayor for Venezuelan gang member's alleged attack on ICE agents
Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) grilled Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) on Wednesday over the city's refusal to comply with federal immigration officials' detainer requests.
During a congressional oversight hearing on sanctuary policies, Jordan blasted the mayor for a preventable violent clash, allegedly between a gang member and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
'An officer got assaulted because of your policy.'
New York Mayor Eric Adams (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D) were also in the hot seat on Wednesday.
Jordan opened his comments by asking Johnston about Abraham Gonzalez, an alleged Venezuelan gang member who was released from jail on Friday.
The congressman explained that Gonzalez was charged with aggravated assault, motor vehicle theft, and felony menacing. Despite ICE's detainer request, Gonzalez was released back onto Denver streets.
ICE had requested a 48-hour notice of Gonzalez's release. However, according to Jordan, Denver law enforcement officials provided the federal immigration agency with a one-hour notice.
Johnston argued that, in this instance and 1,200 others, Denver cooperated with ICE's detainer requests by notifying the agency about the planned release. Yet, he did not deny Jordan's claim that ICE was given only one-hour notice.
"We notified them of release. There was six ICE agents present when he was released, so they had enough time to respond and to be present," Johnston stated.
Jordan explained that the alleged gang member was not turned over to ICE inside of the jail. Instead, he was released out onto the streets outside of the prison, where several ICE agents were waiting to arrest him in the parking lot.
"Guess what happened in the parking lot?" Jordan asked. "One of the ICE officers got assaulted, didn't he? They had to tase the guy, didn't they?"
Jordan further noted that only two ICE officers would have been necessary to turn the individual over to federal custody if the transfer had been completed inside the safety of the jail.
"Do you know why you don't do it that way?" Jordan asked Johnston. "Because you're a sanctuary city."
Johnston continued to deny that Denver shields illegal aliens from law enforcement officials. The mayor claimed that since the altercation, he has contacted ICE to "coordinate on strategies" for release.
"An officer got assaulted because of your policy," Jordan remarked.
John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director, responded to Johnston's comments in a post on X, stating that the mayor "does not care about the safety of citizens."
"He cares about illegal aliens and gang members more. American citizens should come first," he added.
On Tuesday, Fabbricatore spoke before the oversight committee's subcommittee Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation. During the hearing, he detailed how Colorado's sanctuary policies "limit cooperation" with ICE, including restrictions on the department of motor vehicles and state labor records.
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Transgender athlete competes alone after girls abandon race in New York
A transgender athlete who has broken women's records for years competed alone in a 400-meter race on Saturday.
Camden Schreiner, who goes by "Sadie," placed first at the USA Track and Field Open Masters Championships in the women's 400-meter dash in Staten Island, New York.
Records show that the other competitors in the event were listed as "DNS" for did not start. Both of the the girls who did not start were teens, 16 and 17, while Schreiner is 21 years old.
Schreiner did get a chance to compete in the women's 200-meter dash, however, and, according to race results, won first place against several teenage girls.
Schreiner beat five teenagers ranging in age from 14 to 18 en route to victory.
USATF policy allows men to compete in the women's category using the justification that they are in compliance with International Olympic Committee rules. The organization also said that "certain medical benchmarks" must be achieved before an athlete can compete as the "opposite gender" for medals or prize money.
The policy added, "The intent of this policy is to establish competitive eligibility and to help ensure fair competition. The policy also contains safeguards to protect the privacy of any athlete(s) making the request for eligibility."
'Please stop this nonsense.'
Schreiner has made headlines for continuously breaking women's records over the past two years. In January 2024, Schreiner broke school records at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the women's 200-meter and 300-meter sprints.
As reported by Blaze News, Schreiner broke more records in January 2025 at an interscholastic track and field event in New York called Brockport's Rust Buster. Competing against multiple universities, Schreiner set facility records by winning the women's 200-meter dash in 24.50 seconds and the women's 400-meter dash in 55.91 seconds. The times were also program records, according to RIT.
The school later named Schreiner female athlete of the week.
"Please stop this nonsense," said Ashley Keleher, former track star at Colby-Sawyer College. Keleher expressed great displeasure with the state of women's athletics over the inclusion of men.
Schreiner's school and head track coach have fully supported him on his journey to displace women in their own athletics, noting him in his school bio as a two-time All-American and Atlantic Region Outdoor Champion.
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The runner has also been rewarded with photo shoots and a full defense from the Washington Post.
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