Democratic mayors of four major cities said Wednesday that Congress and the Trump administration are exaggerating crime committed by immigrants and attacking so-called sanctuary cities simply to score political points, as Republicans hammered the policies for shielding criminals and discouraging cooperation with federal officials.The comments came in a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where Republicans accused the mayors of putting their cities in danger and undermining President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.Republicans have repeatedly highlighted crimes committed by immigrants who crossed illegally into the U.S., with Rep. James Comer opening the hearings by saying the policies 맥스카지노�only create sanctuary for criminals.맥스카지노�But the Democratic mayors 맥스카지노� Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver and Eric Adams of New York 맥스카지노� pushed back hard.맥스카지노�We know there are myths about these laws. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fear mongering obscure the reality that Chicago맥스카지노�s crime rates are trending down,맥스카지노� Johnson told the committee in a hearing room packed with reporters and onlookers. 맥스카지노�We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. It맥스카지노�s grandstanding.맥스카지노�There맥스카지노�s no legal definition for sanctuary city policies, but they generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers. Courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary laws.Adams noted that New York's sanctuary policies do not allow the city to violate immigration law or hinder enforcement.맥스카지노�New York City will always comply with city, state, and federal laws as it does now,맥스카지노� he said.Denver's Johnston said that crime decreased when the city was faced with an influx of immigrants, many bussed from border states by Republican politicians. Like the other mayors, he also called for immigration reform that would make it easier for people to legally enter the U.S.맥스카지노�If Denver can find a way to put aside our ideological differences long enough to manage a crisis we didn맥스카지노�t choose or create, it seems only fair to ask that the body that is actually charged with solving this national problem 맥스카지노� this Congress 맥스카지노� can finally commit to do the same,맥스카지노� he said.Immigration laws, the mayors said, are a federal responsibility, and the attempt to put that responsibility on local law enforcement simply makes communities distrust the police and others they may need to call for help.맥스카지노�This federal administration맥스카지노�s approach is undermining that trust,맥스카지노� said Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan. 맥스카지노�This federal administration is making hard-working, taxpaying, God-fearing residents afraid to live their lives.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�You belong here," Wu said, addressing immigrant communities in Boston. "This is your home.맥스카지노�The Republican majority last week released a nearly three-minute-long video previewing the hearing. It opens with images of the Constitution catching fire and burning, revealing photos of the four mayors. It goes on to show arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of people who'd committed crimes in those cities interspersed with comments from the mayors and news stories showing negative impacts of migration surges.The video ends with Comer threatening to cut the cities' federal funding if they don't cooperate with immigration enforcement.In communities that don't cooperate on immigration, ICE agents go in to track down people after their release. ICE argues that this is dangerous and strains resources.Trump administration officials have also argued that if communities work with them on immigration enforcement, 맥스카지노�collateral arrests" 맥스카지노� when ICE detains people other than those targeted 맥스카지노� are less likely.맥스카지노�Sanctuary cities want to keep locking us out of jails," Trump맥스카지노�s border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters recently. 맥스카지노�They force us into the neighborhood to find the bad guys. When we find the bad guy, many times they맥스카지노�re with others.맥스카지노�Advocates say that while ICE claims to target 맥스카지노�the worst of the worst맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� meaning immigrants who've committed heinous crimes in the U.S. 맥스카지노� they end up going far beyond that, destabilizing communities.But the Trump administration continues to target them and has sued Chicago and Illinois as well as New York state over various immigration laws.____Sullivan reported from Minneapolis.