Key Takeaways
- •Sen. Graham (R-SC) announced legislation to prosecute local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and to allow crime victims to sue sanctuary jurisdictions.
- •Chad Wolf (Former Acting Secretary, America First Policy Institute) testified that sanctuary policies nullify federal law and result in the release of thousands of criminal aliens into American communities.
- •Sen. Merkley (D-OR) accused ICE of acting as "secret police" in unmarked vans, prompting Wolf to defend the agency's sworn officers and call the characterization "outrageous."
- •Republicans argued sanctuary policies endanger public safety and increase taxpayer costs, while Democrats contended these jurisdictions have lower crime rates and higher median incomes than non-sanctuary areas.
- •Sen. Graham (R-SC) proposed using budget reconciliation to eliminate sanctuary policies, while Democrats warned that such measures would explode the national debt and gut essential social programs.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
On March 10, 2026, the Senate Budget Committee, led by Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC), held a hearing to examine the fiscal and public safety impacts of "sanctuary cities." The hearing focused on jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, specifically regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers. The session highlighted a sharp partisan divide: Republicans argued that sanctuary policies create "magnets" for illegal immigration and endanger citizens, while Democrats characterized the hearing as a distraction from the fiscal damage caused by Republican tax cuts and expressed concerns over ICE’s conduct.
Chairman Graham opened the hearing by stating that approximately 12 states and 200 cities have adopted sanctuary policies. He cited data suggesting that 10,000 criminal aliens released by these jurisdictions went on to commit additional crimes. Graham highlighted the case of Stephanie Minter, a mother murdered in Fairfax County, Virginia, by an individual with 30 prior arrests whose ICE detainer was allegedly ignored by local prosecutors. Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) countered by criticizing the committee for failing to hold a hearing for a year and focused on the "big ugly betrayal" — a Republican reconciliation bill that he claimed added $30 trillion to the national debt over 30 years. Merkley also accused ICE of acting as a "secret police" force, citing the deaths of American citizens Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Ruben Ray Martinez during ICE operations.
Key Testimony
Witness testimony provided conflicting views on the impact of sanctuary policies. Chad Wolf, Executive Director and Chair of the Center for Homeland Security and Immigration at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), testified that sanctuary jurisdictions nullify federal law and cited that California released 4,641 criminal aliens from local jails in 2025. Michael Chapman, Sheriff of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, argued that his county’s cooperation with ICE through the 287(g) program has resulted in the lowest crime rate in the Northern Virginia area. Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), stated that 60 percent of illegal immigrant households use government welfare programs, costing taxpayers an estimated $42 billion annually.
In contrast, David J. Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, testified that immigrants have reduced government deficits by $14.5 trillion over the last 30 years. He argued that sanctuary policies do not increase crime and that ICE often detains individuals who pose no public safety threat, noting that only 10 percent of ICE detainees receive the highest internal threat level. Brendan Duke, Senior Director for Federal Budget Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), focused on the fiscal outlook, noting that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the administration’s anti-immigrant policies would increase deficits by $500 billion over 10 years by reducing the working-age population.
Overview
Several policy proposals were discussed during the hearing. Chairman Graham advocated for legislation to prosecute local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal deportation orders and suggested empowering victims of crimes committed by released illegal immigrants to sue local jurisdictions. Ms. Vaughan recommended that Congress disqualify sanctuary jurisdictions from receiving certain federal funding. Mr. Bier proposed creating a private right of action for individuals to sue federal agents for constitutional violations, noting that federal officers currently enjoy a level of immunity that state and local police do not.
The hearing featured several notable exchanges. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) confronted Mr. Wolf regarding whether individuals killed by ICE were "domestic terrorists," demanding an apology for their families. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) described an incident in Rhode Island where masked ICE agents allegedly threatened a state judge and mistakenly detained a high school intern, citing this as a reason why local law enforcement may choose not to cooperate with an "unprofessional" agency. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) focused on the "invasion" at the border and the need for information sharing between local and federal authorities.
The organizations identified in the hearing were discussed in the following contexts: - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Extensively discussed regarding its budget, detainer requests, and allegations of "secret police" tactics. - U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Mentioned regarding its $170 billion budget and its role in border enforcement. - Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Cited for its projections on the national debt and the economic impact of reduced immigration. - Cato Institute: Represented by David Bier, who argued for the economic benefits of immigration. - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP): Represented by Brendan Duke, who criticized the fiscal impact of Republican tax cuts. - Loudoun County Sheriff's Office: Represented by Sheriff Chapman as a model for federal-local cooperation. - America First Policy Institute (AFPI): Represented by Chad Wolf, advocating for the end of sanctuary policies. - Center for Immigration Studies (CIS): Represented by Jessica Vaughan, providing data on the costs of illegal immigration. - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Mentioned regarding funding disputes linked to immigration policy. - U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ): Cited for its list of sanctuary jurisdictions. - Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Referenced regarding the sharing of fingerprint and arrest data. - Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP): Submitted a statement opposing the use of local police for federal immigration enforcement. - MS-13: Cited in the context of violent crimes committed by gang members in sanctuary areas. - CBS News: Mentioned for reporting on body cam footage of an ICE-related death. - U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA): Cited for data on the need for immigrant workers to sustain the trust fund. - U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon): Referenced regarding the daily costs of military operations. - U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Mentioned as part of Sheriff Chapman’s law enforcement background. - Supreme Court: Referenced regarding rulings on gay marriage and the legality of tariffs. - Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA): Mentioned as part of the due process for deportation. - United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit: Cited for rulings that local officials can be liable for holding detainees without warrants.
The hearing concluded with Chairman Graham vowing to continue the push to eliminate sanctuary policies, while Democratic members emphasized the need for comprehensive budget reform and constitutional protections.
Transcript
Good morning. Welcome to the Republican hearing on sanctuary cities. [Laughter.] Our Democratic friends on the way? Should we wait? Do we know if they're coming? Could somebody find that out? I will go ahead and make sure our Democratic colleagues can have their time and ask their questions. So, we're the Budget Committee. The mighty, mighty Budget Committee that did reconciliation. And thank you very much. Right on cue. I would hope this committee would take round two and see if we can do something on reconciliation around round two. But that'd be up to our group of us and talk to the leadership about that. But this hearing today, I think is timely. We're trying to look at the budget impact of a policy called sanctuary cities. Now there are 200, I think cities, 14 states, we got a chart here somewhere, that engage in the practice of sanctuary cities. Now what is that practice? Local officials, state, local officials, basically have adopted a policy of not turning over to the federal government illegal immigrants subject to being turned over because they don't like the policy. They don't want to engage in deporting these people. Now under President Obama, I think 3,000,000 people were deported. Now I don't believe any Republican refused to work with the federal government to deport these people. And when President Obama deported 3,000,000 people, it was called being strong and good government. When we try to deport people as a result of being invaded by illegal immigrants for four years under the Biden administration, we're Nazi and bad guys. I don't buy that at all. I think most Americans would like to get control over our country and sovereignty over our nation. Immigration done right can be a tremendous benefit to the country. When you obliterate the borders for four years and people from all over the world flood in, you got a problem. And it needs to be fixed and cleaned up. As to ICE, if we can make ICE more professional, if we can do things at DHS that make it more professional, count me in. I think Markwayne Mullin would be a great secretary to do that. But to my Democratic colleagues, we'll never fix illegal immigration until you get to the source of the problem. And one of the problems we have is magnets to encourage future illegal immigration. Now they got 12 sanctuary states, 200 cities, there are 25,000 people that ICE had a detainer on that were refused to be turned over. Next one. We believe it endangers public safety, 10,000 criminals released by sanctuary policies who went on to be arrested for additional crimes. They should have been turned over. They weren't. They stayed in the country and they committed crimes. $9,000,000,000 in fraud that we know of and probably growing. 59 percent of illegal immigrant households on government welfare programs costing taxpayers $42,000,000,000 a year. Well, that's some real money. Let me give you a real-life example of what happens when you don't do this right. Fairfax, I think we're going to hear here in a minute from one of our sheriffs. Fairfax police warned prosecutors about repeat offender months before deadly bus stop stabbing. Now this gentleman here, Abdul Jalloh, was in custody and had a pretty bad rap sheet. People in the prosecution business say don't release this guy, I mean deport this guy, turn him over. Don't release him. That was good advice. It was not taken. This young lady here, Stephanie Nicole Minster, was murdered by this man. And we had this man in detention in Fairfax County and they refused to turn him over for deportation. He was allowed to stay in the county and the rest is history. A young mom is dead because of that decision. And who was this guy? He came to the country in 2012. He was arrested 30 times, rape, malicious wounding, and assault. 2020, ICE submits a formal detainer to deport him. The request is blocked by Virginia's attorney for Fairfax County, a Soros-backed prosecutor and defender of sanctuary cities who ignored the detainer. On May 2025, he was arrested once more for stabbing an individual in the leg but was but again released. 30 arrests, May 2025, stab somebody in the leg, let him go again. February 2026, just months later, he murders Ms. Minster. I'm not okay with that. I think that's offensive to who we are as a rule of law nation, to the people in Fairfax County, to this district attorney. I wish we could find a way for these people to sue you and make you pay a heavy price for ignoring your legal obligations under federal law and showing such poor judgment. How many arrests is necessary? How many people need to be stabbed before a guy like that is deported? And what's the upside of keeping him here? Is this the model citizen we want to keep in America? No, there's an ideology around sanctuary city that needs to be broken. And we're here to break it. I've got legislation designed to change this dynamic. Going forward, if a local official or a governor, anybody, refuses to cooperate with federal government in turning over people subject to deportation under federal law, they can be prosecuted. Because they should be prosecuted. You got to make it so that those who hang on to these illegal immigrants in defiance of federal law, that they feel the pain, not just the public. So my hope is that we can find a way forward to break the cycle of the damage being done from sanctuary cities, the cost incurred to the taxpayer, and what happened to Stephanie just never happens again. We're not going to quit on this. If you want to defend it, you're welcome to do it. And this not going away. You'll never have rational immigration as long as you have 12 states saying if you get here, you never leave. You're never going to fix this if you have 200 cities that practice sanctuary policy because the illegal immigrant believes I get there and never leave. I've tried to work with Democrats like many over here to find a rational solution to our illegal immigration problem. We're not going to ignore four years of Joe Biden obliterating our border, people came in from all over the world by tens of millions, flown into the interior of the country and only God knows where they're at. Look at the number of people on the terrorist watch list and how it's gone up 2,700 percent, 21, 22, 23. Where are these people? They don't know. I asked, nobody knows where they're at. So in this invasion during the Biden administration, we had 11,000 murderers. Look at the number of people on the terrorist watch list. They're in our country and we don't know where they're at. So what we're going to do is be willing to reform ICE, try to fix problems that we've seen, but we're not going to give up on the idea that we need to right wrongs here and deport people that present danger and try to regain control over immigration system. To my Democratic colleagues, what is the answer to sanctuary cities? Is it to continue the policy? Is it to eliminate the policy? All of us say eliminate it. I think the public is with us by like 80 percent. And until we eliminate the policy, you're going to see more and more stories like I just described. It is now time to call the question on sanctuary cities. Will it be the norm going forward in America or will it change? To my colleagues on this side of the aisle, thank you for supporting this effort. We're fully committed to eliminating sanctuary cities for the good of the country. To my Democratic colleagues, we'd love to join with you in a rational way to do some things to make ICE more professional. But what you need to do in return is work with us to eliminate one of the biggest magnets to future illegal immigration, which is sanctuary city policy. With that, Senator Merkley.
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