A House hearing on sanctuary city policies turned into a screaming match Tuesday after Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) clashed over immigration and sanctuary jurisdictions.
The dispute began after Lawler, who was appearing before the committee to introduce a witness, criticized sanctuary city policies. He said cities such as New York and Chicago ignore federal immigration law and provide a safe haven for criminals. Committee members interrupted him, saying he was only supposed to introduce his witness rather than make a political statement.
The exchange escalated when Lawler accused Democrats of applying different standards to victims of violent crime.
“So while some of my colleagues may not want to hear the truth, the same outrage you feel about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, you should feel about Sheridan Gorman and Laken Riley and every angel family in this country,” Lawler said.
“I do feel that outrage,” Raskin responded.
“You do not, because if you did, you would not support sanctuary jurisdictions,” Lawler shot back. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Jamie. You’re a disgrace.”
Raskin fired back, telling Lawler to “say one word about Alex Pretti,” prompting Lawler to respond that he had written a New York Times opinion piece about the case.
“You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself for not proposing sanctuary policies that resulted in their daughter’s death,” Lawler argued.
Lawler wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in January, where he described the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good as “tragic and preventable” and called for comprehensive immigration reform.