Three Democratic governors are set to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month as they face questions about state policies that inhibit federal immigration enforcement.

The House Oversight Committee said Tuesday that Governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Kathy Hochul of New York, and Tim Walz of Minnesota will appear on June 12 to testify about immigration enforcement in their states. As the Trump administration has promised mass deportations, Democratic officials across the country have indicated that they will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security.

“Sanctuary policies only provide sanctuaries for criminal illegal aliens. Former President Biden created the worst border crisis in U.S. history and allowed criminal illegal aliens to flood our communities. President Trump has ended this crisis and now we have the most secure borders in decades,” House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) said.

“The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,” he added. “The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.”

Illinois has been a sanctuary state since 2017, when then-Governor Bruce Rauner (R) signed the Illinois Trust Act, which blocked local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement actions. In New York, state agencies are not allowed to work with ICE, and a state court ruled that neither state nor local law enforcement should hold illegal immigrants at ICE’s request.

Legislation to make Minnesota a sanctuary state has failed in recent years despite pushes from Walz and the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.

“My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws,” Walz said in 2018. “The role of law enforcement is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws, and I strongly believe that they should not do so.”

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), there are currently eleven “sanctuary states,” including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, in addition to the District of Columbia.

The hearing with the governors follows one in April, where the House Oversight Committee also questioned the mayors of sanctuary cities like Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York.

On Tuesday night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the United States had rescued all the hostages kept by the socialist Venezuelan Maduro regime at the Argentinian Embassy in Caracas.

Those five hostages were members of the opposition to Nicholas Maduro’s brutal regime. “The government of Argentine President Javier Milei allowed the five people into the ambassador’s residence in March 2024, when authorities loyal to Venezuela’s ruling party issued warrants for their arrest, accusing them of promoting acts of violence to destabilize the country,” The Washington Post reported, adding, “Since late November, the group had denounced the constant presence of intelligence service agents and police outside the residence.”

“The U.S. welcomes the successful rescue of all hostages held by the Maduro regime at the Argentinian Embassy in Caracas,” Rubio wrote on X. “Following a precise operation, all hostages are now safely on U.S. soil. Maduro’s illegitimate regime has undermined Venezuela’s institutions, violated human rights, and endangered our regional security. We extend our gratitude to all personnel involved in this operation and to our partners who assisted in securing the safe liberation of these Venezuelan heroes.”

The U.S. welcomes the successful rescue of all hostages held by the Maduro regime at the Argentinian Embassy in Caracas.

Following a precise operation, all hostages are now safely on U.S. soil. Maduro's illegitimate regime has undermined Venezuela's institutions, violated human…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 7, 2025

In January, Milei met with exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia in Casa Rosada, declaring him the Venezuelan “president elect.”

“Venezuelans, we will also meet in the streets of our beloved country,” González Urrutia wrote on X.

After the meeting, the Argentine government called González Urrutia “Venezuela’s president-elect,” adding he “is under political persecution by the regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro,” the Buenos Aires Herald reported.

Maduro was declared the winner of the July 2024 presidential election in Venezuela by the National Electoral Council, while the opposition claimed that they were the winners. Milei wrote on X, “Venezuelans have chosen to end Nicolás Maduro’s communist dictatorship. The data indicates a crushing victory for the opposition, and the world awaits its recognition of defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence, and death. Argentina will not acknowledge another fraud, and expects the Armed Forces to defend democracy and the popular will this time.”

DICTADOR MADURO, AFUERA!!!

Los venezolanos eligieron terminar con la dictadura comunista de Nicolás Maduro. Los datos anuncian una victoria aplastante de la oposición y el mundo aguarda que reconozca la derrota luego de años de socialismo, miseria, decadencia y muerte.…

— Javier Milei (@JMilei) July 29, 2024

When González Urrutia met with Milei, he gave him a framed voting tally showing he had won.