Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley (D) defended his city’s sanctuary status, saying the national government “cannot federalize local police” while clarifying his administration will not obstruct immigration enforcement operations.
His comments come after four Democratic mayors from sanctuary cities across the U.S. testified on Capitol Hill and defended their cities’ status in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday.
“We believe there’s a distinction between the federal government and local government with regard to policing,” Keeley said Wednesday on “The Hill on NewsNation.”
Boston’s Michelle Wu, Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, Denver’s Mike Johnston and New York City’s Eric Adams faced questions from Republicans, including committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who has vowed to hold the mayors accountable for their policies.
“We are a sanctuary city. We don’t apologize for that,” Keeley said.
The Democratic mayor explained that Santa Cruz, which has maintained sanctuary city status since the mid-1980s and unanimously reaffirmed that designation last month, follows its own law enforcement priorities that may differ from federal immigration goals.
“They establish their priorities in law enforcement. We establish our priorities,” he told host Blake Burman. “Where those align, that’s just fine. Where they don’t align, we are going to pursue our high priorities.”
Keeley said that his stance isn’t about obstructing federal authorities but about focusing local resources on community priorities like “home invasions, petty crime, criminal activity involving fentanyl.
When pressed about potential contradictions in accepting federal help for certain investigations while limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Keeley pointed to a previous MS-13 gang operation where local authorities worked with federal agents because of “shared values.”
“We had an MS-13 situation a few years ago. There was a joint federal, state, local task force for getting MS-13 out of here. No problem whatsoever,” the mayor said.
The mayor also claimed that in the seven years his police chief has served, “not one time has ICE called him and said, ‘We’re coming to your city. We need your help.'”
What is a sanctuary city?
While there’s no set definition of a “sanctuary city,” the term generally refers to cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration officers.
Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, says a rise in modern transnational criminal gangs has created an unprecedented risk, one he’s vowed to “eradicate.”
“This is the biggest national security issue this country has seen, and we’re going to address it,” Homan said in reference to Tren de Aragua and MS-13.
Supporters of sanctuary cities say they want to be welcoming landing spots for immigrants.
“That’s just who we are. We’re a city, again, that was established by a black Haitian immigrant. That is the punch,” the Chicago mayor said. “We’re responding to individuals who don’t share our values.”
They also warn that victims and witnesses of crimes who are in the country illegally may be less likely to come forward if local law enforcement is cooperating with ICE.
NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey, Anna Kutz, Steph Whiteside contributed to this report.
