Republican lawmaker Byron Donalds slammed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, along with the mayors of several other so-called “sanctuary cities,” during a heated hearing, accusing Mayor Wu and others of negligence based on their weak response to the illegal immigration crisis, which Rep. Donalds described a problem that was “forced” on Americans.
For background, during a tense House Oversight Committee hearing on March 6, 2025, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) ripped into Boston Mayor Michelle Wu over her sanctuary policies and the policies maintained by the mayors of other major cities, calling out Mayor Wu for her apparent ignorance of the financial impact of America’s illegal immigration problem.
During the hearing, Rep. Donalds asked Mayor Wu, “Do you manage your budget or not?” going on to recount how he had witnessed firsthand the hmishandling of the immigration crisis by Biden, explaining, “What was occurring under the Biden administration is that they were bussing unaccompanied minors all across the United States for one reason and one reason only, and that was because they did not want the press to see the pictures of kids in cages.”
Continuing, Rep. Donalds told the mayor that Biden and his fellow Democrats “did not want to see our borders being overrun,” adding, “They wanted to disperse that problem all through the United States. That is the reckless history of illegal immigration under Joe Biden.” The lawmaker then asked, “Did you ever talk to Joe Biden about why this was happening to your community?”
Attempting to defend herself, Mayor Wu replied, “Thank you, congressman. I reached out to Governor Abbott from Texas. He didn’t respond.” Rep. Donalds shot back, “Why would you reach out to Governor Abbott of Texas when it is Joe Biden, the former commander-in-chief that opened up our borders. Why didn’t you talk to him?”
Doubling down on her excuses, Mayor Wu explained, “Well, our buses directly were being sent from Governor Abbott in Texas, so that was why we reached out to say we’re happy to collaborate on a coordinated entry system.” She added, “We understand no one state or no one city should bear the entire brunt of this, but let’s collaborate.”
Unsatisfied with Mayor Wu’s statements, Rep. Donalds replied, “I’m glad you said that, because that brings me to my next point: Governor Abbott and [Florida] Governor DeSantis, when they started moving illegal aliens out of their states…were bearing the brunt of what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were doing.” He went on, “The reason why they did that is because [sanctuary city mayors] could hide…behind the realities of illegal immigration.”
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Moreover, during the hearing, Rep. Donalds also questioned Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, leading to the conclusion that Adams’s city spent $6.9 billion in taxpayer dollars on the issue of illegal immigration. Rep. Donalds weighed in, saying that Mayor Adams spent “$6.9 billion of taxpayer money on a problem that was forced on the American people.”
Continuing, Rep. Donalds came to the conclusion that Mayor Wu, Mayor Adams, and other leaders of sanctuary cities do “not care how much of your resources [they have] spent on people who are not citizens.” The lawmaker later added, “America has to choose between securing our nation or protecting the taxpayer. I choose secure the nation.”
Watch a clip from the tense hearing:
Featured image credit: video screengrab