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FIRST ON FOX: Top Republican leaders criticized Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ahead of an important congressional hearing this week focused on sanctuary city policies.
GOP Whip and Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer wished Walz “good luck” as he prepares to give testimony at a House Oversight Committee session alongside Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and New York Governor Kathy Hochul this Thursday.
“From throwing insults at ICE agents to providing numerous taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants in Minnesota, Tim Walz’s immigration policy can easily be described as: supporting illegal aliens while neglecting Minnesotans,” Emmer told Fox News Digital.
“If Tim Walz believes he can justify his poor record in front of Congress, he’s more out of touch than I thought. I have one message for him as he heads to Washington: GOOD LUCK.”
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Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., speaks at a rally at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Emmer paired his statements with a new video criticizing Walz’s immigration policies, titled “Protecting Illegals, Not Minnesotans: That’s the Walz Way.”
The three “sanctuary governors” will be questioned extensively by committee members this week, particularly after anti-ICE protests occurred in Los Angeles over the weekend, amidst increased deportation efforts by the Trump administration nationwide.
Protests and clashes between immigration rights advocates and law enforcement took place in Paramount, California, and downtown Los Angeles on June 7, 2025, following recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security agents. (Taurat Hossain/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While “sanctuary city” is not a legally defined term, undocumented immigrants tend to congregate in predominantly Democrat-led areas to lessen their chances of deportation. These cities generally ignore Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests for information, such as on arrests or releases, and often deny ICE requests to detain illegal migrants past their release date.
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House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, stated in a media advisory that “The governors of these states must justify why they are putting the protection of criminal illegal immigrants above the safety of U.S. citizens.”
“Sanctuary policies mainly provide shelter for criminal illegal immigrants,” Comer added. “Former President Biden has created the worst border crisis in U.S. history, allowing criminal illegal immigrants to inundate our communities.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The Trump Administration is taking firm action to deport criminal illegal aliens, but irresponsible sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively hindering federal immigration enforcement.”
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The hearing is set for Thursday, June 12, at 10 a.m. ET.
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz but did not receive a response.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. To send story tips, contact Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston
