WATCH: Denver mayor tells congressional committee hearing on immigration: “We must tell the full story.”

(Watch on YouTube)

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is testifying Wednesday morning to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as the Republican-led panel scrutinizes several cities’ immigration policies.

This story will be updated during the hearing.

8:38 a.m. update: Johnston was up second for his opening statement, after New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Johnston contended that most migrants who arrived in Denver over the last two-plus years were women and children living in freezing temperatures, which led to the opening of shelters.

He highlighted the city’s efforts to help people obtain work authorization as they filed for asylum. All shelters have since closed, and Johnston said migrants did not contribute to increased crime locally.

“If we want to tell the story of what impact immigrants have in America, we must tell the full story,” he told the committee. “The truth is that people who are new to this country do good and bad, just like all of us.”

Since late 2022, nearly 43,000 migrants, many of them Venezuelans, streamed into Denver, according to the city’s data-tracking dashboard. Some have stayed in Denver, while others eventually moved on to other U.S. cities. Johnston spoke about buses that continued to arrive in Denver, especially in late 2023 and early 2024 — as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office organized bus trips out of that border state to cities like Denver.

“When those buses kept on coming, Denver made a choice as a city not to hate each other, but to help each other,” he said.

Johnston’s live remarks differed in some ways from the prepared text released ahead of time by his office. He referenced scripture at one point.

“As a man of faith,” he said, “I have moral obligation to care for those in need.”

8:28 a.m. update: Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, also opened with a statement, aiming to rebut Comer’s comments. He said Republicans and Democrats agree that no one wants violent criminals in American cities but they disagree over the application of laws.

He said the cities’ policies don’t violate federal law or obstruct ICE from carrying out its duties but that Republicans will try to “frame them as lawless.”

“The Republicans’ crusade against local independence doesn’t just undermine public safety in our communities, it is blatantly cruel — and, I say, inhumane and un-American,” he said.

Besides Rep. Lauren Boebert, who’s on the oversight committee, the other three Republicans from Colorado were waived onto the committee as it got started — Reps. Gabe Evans, Jeff Crank and Jeff Hurd. That will allow them to ask questions today.

8:24 a.m. update: Although Johnston is identified as among the four mayors who lead “sanctuary cities,” whether Denver is a sanctuary city or not — a semi-political label — has been debated by its leadership.

Former Mayor Michael Hancock was vocal in 2017 against the term being applied to Denver. That year, he issued an executive order in support of immigrants and refugees, instead calling Denver “a safe and welcoming city for all.” That measure created a legal defense fund and directed the Denver Sheriff Department to not seek federal funding tied to collecting information about the immigration and citizenship status of people in Denver jails.

8:16 a.m. update: Committee chairman Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, opened the hearing by lambasting the mayors before him, saying their policies “create sanctuary for criminals.”

“Sanctuary cities release criminal aliens back onto the streets where they often go on to commit more crimes,” he said.

Johnston will attempt to refute that characterization, according to a copy of his opening remarks. He has maintained that Denver police and sheriff’s deputies work with federal immigration agents when it comes to people accused of violent crimes.

8 a.m. update: Johnston will attempt to strike a balance between describing Denver as a welcoming place for law-abiding immigrants and making clear that he supports targeting violent criminals, according to a copy of his opening remarks provided by the city.

“We should aggressively prosecute and deport those who commit violent crimes,” he plans to say. “For those who want to work and play by the rules, we should put them to work.”

The city has a history of cooperating with federal law enforcement organizations, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, according to his remarks.

But the city does support immigrants “who are playing by the rules” — and city officials are  prepared to pursue legal action to protect them from enforcement operations in places of worship, hospitals and schools, he plans to say.

Johnston describes the city’s policies as: allowing city employees to cooperate with ICE “in the execution of a warrant issued by a federal judge or magistrate”; permitting agents with a warrant to enter “secure areas” of jails to enforce immigration laws; and, upon request, notifying ICE when the Denver Sheriff Department is going to release someone in its custody.

Toward the end of his remarks, Johnston plans to say he welcomes ideas about immigration reform that will secure the border, create a “better process” for immigrants to enter the country and make the “immigration situation easier for cities to manage.”

Original post: Johnston was set to appear alongside mayors from New York City, Chicago and Boston in the hearing, which is set to begin at 8 a.m. Denver time. This story will include a livestream of the hearing and news updates after the proceedings begin.

The majority-Republican committee has asked Johnston and the other mayors to testify about their “sanctuary city” policies as new President Donald Trump pursues mass deportations of people lacking proper legal status.

The hearing in Washington, D.C., could have major implications for Denver as Trump and congressional Republicans threaten to pull federal funding from cities that don’t cooperate with federal agents on such efforts. For Denver, that could mean losing millions of dollars for programs and projects.

When the Trump administration issued a sudden freeze on all federal grant spending earlier this year, a spokesman for the city said the city’s 2025 budget included $150 million in federal dollars for items such as infrastructure and small business support.

Denver city officials also are hoping to avoid a legal battle over the city’s policies, as has been the fate for other cities.

Each mayor will deliver an opening statement before the committee members are given five minutes each to ask them questions. The hearing is expected to last several hours.

U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert and Gabe Evans, both Republicans from Colorado who have challenged Johnston in the past, plan to participate in the hearing and are likely to focus their time specifically on him.

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