Democratic governors defend immigration policies before Republican-led House panel

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump spars with California's governor over immigration enforcement, Republicans in Congress called other Democratic governors to the Capitol on Thursday to question them over policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sat in front of large, full-color posters showing men who they said were in the country without legal permission when they were arrested for crimes in Illinois, Minnesota and New York — home of the governors testifying before the committee.

Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer began the hearing by introducing the family of a young woman killed in a hit-and-run traffic crash in Illinois, suggesting its sanctuary policies had facilitated the illegal presence of the driver of the other vehicle.

“Sanctuary polices do not protect Americans, they protect criminal illegal aliens,” Comer said.

Republican lawmakers clashed repeatedly with the Democratic governors, often recounting descriptions of violent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were not previously detained by local police. The daylong hearing turned into a yelling match at multiple moments, with committee members talking over the top of each other and veering off topic in their questions.

At one point, Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico interjected to denounce the “theatrics.”

“Welcome everyone to the Oversight reality TV show,” Stansbury said. “I know Mr. Trump loves himself some good TV, and today is not disappointing.”

There’s no legal definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction, but the term generally refers to governments with policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Courts previously have upheld the legality of such laws.

But Trump’s administration has sued Colorado, Illinois, New York and several cities — including Chicago and Rochester, New York — asserting their policies violate the U.S. Constitution or federal law.

Illinois, Minnesota and New York also were among 14 states and hundreds of cities and counties recently listed by the Department of Homeland Security as “sanctuary jurisdictions defying federal immigration law.” The list later was removed from the department’s website after criticism that it errantly included some local governments that support Trump’s immigration policies.

As Trump steps up immigration enforcement, some Democratic-led states have intensified their resistance by strengthening state laws restricting cooperation with immigration agents. Following clashes between crowds of protesters and immigration agents in Los Angeles, Trump deployed the National Guard to protect federal buildings and agents, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of declaring “a war” on the underpinnings of American democracy.

“As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “At the outset, I just want to say that this is a flagrant abuse of power.”

Some of the most fiery exchanges involved Hochul and Republicans from her home state. Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been named as a potential 2026 gubernatorial candidate in New York, described instances in which she said people were raped, molested and burned alive by immigrants who had entered or remained in the U.S. illegally.

“You are not advocating on behalf of these victims, you are shielding illegals,” Stefanik said to Hochul while interrupting the governor's attempted responses.

Hochul said the crimes were “horrific” and “heartbreaking” and insisted “we cooperate with ICE; we cooperate with law enforcement” in criminal cases.

Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy of New York later implied that Hochul's policies were partly to blame for the death of University of Georgia student Laken Riley, who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man who had entered the U.S. illegally. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the man had been arrested by New York police in 2023 but was released before ICE could ask New York officials to hold him.

Pressed further by other Republican questioners, Hochul expressed sympathy for Riley's family but said “this has nothing to do with our civil enforcement of the laws.”

Gubernatorial orders prohibit New York officials from inquiring about or disclosing a person’s immigration status to federal authorities, unless required by law.

Hochul said law enforcement officers still can cooperate with federal immigration authorities when people are convicted of or under investigation for crimes. Since she took office in 2021, Hochul said the state has initiated the transfer of more than 1,300 incarcerated noncitizens to ICE at the completion of their state sentences.

“What we don’t do is civil immigration enforcement — that’s the federal government’s job,” Hochul said.

The House Oversight Committee has long been a partisan battleground, and in recent months it has turned its focus to immigration policy. Thursday’s hearing follows a similar one in March in which the Republican-led committee questioned the Democratic mayors of Chicago, Boston, Denver and New York about sanctuary policies.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the first to testify, rejected the assertion that Minnesota is a sanctuary state. It has no statewide law protecting immigrants in the U.S. illegally from deportation, though Minneapolis and St. Paul both restrict the extent to which police and city employees can cooperate with immigration enforcement.

“Enforcing immigration law is not the role of local and state governments,” said Walz, who sent out a political fundraising email touting his congressional testimony.

Some laws signed by Walz have secured benefits for people regardless of immigration status. But at least one of those is getting rolled back. The Minnesota Legislature, meeting in a special session, passed legislation Monday to repeal a 2023 law that allowed adults in the U.S. illegally to be covered under a state-run health care program for the working poor. Walz insisted on maintaining eligibility for children who aren’t in the country legally.

Heavily Democratic Chicago has been a sanctuary city for decades. In 2017, then-Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, signed legislation creating statewide protections for immigrants. The Illinois Trust Act prohibits police from searching, arresting or detaining people solely because of their immigration status. But it allows local authorities to hold people for federal immigration authorities if there’s a valid criminal warrant.

Gov. JB Pritzker, who succeeded Rauner in 2019, said violent criminals “have no place on our streets, and if they are undocumented, I want them out of Illinois and out of our country.”

“Illinois follows the law. But let me be clear, we expect the federal government to follow the law too,” added Pritzker, who has been among Trump’s most outspoken opponents and is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate. “We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders.”

Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Mo. Also contributing were Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, N.Y.; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; and Sophia Tareen in Chicago.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul attend a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, center, speaks, as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, left, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, right, sit nearby during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul are sworn in during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Attendees listen to a speaker during a protest at Pershing Square, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against recent immigration raids on the Lake Street-Marshall Bridge on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minn. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

Demonstrators hold signs and chant during a protest against deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Demonstrators hold signs and chant during a protest against deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK (AP) — Robbed an inning earlier, Cody Bellinger wasn't sure his first three-homer game had been swiped away again.

“I didn't know at first,” he said. “For that third one to finally get over feels pretty good.”

Bellinger hit three two-run homers against his former team and was denied a fourth by a spectacular catch, leading the Yankees to an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Aaron Judge made a trio of outstanding grabs in right field for the Yankees, who have won fifth straight games following a a six-game losing streak.

Bellinger, whose dad Clay played for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, is a two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP.

He spent 2023 and ’24 with the Cubs, hitting .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games last year while missing time because of a broken right rib. The Cubs traded him to New York in December with $52.5 million remaining on his contract and agreed to pay the Yankees $5 million.

He homered in a three-run third off Chris Flexen and in the fifth against Caleb Thielbar for this 18th multi-homer game. Bellinger nearly went deep in the seventh but was robbed by Kyle Tucker on a drive above the right-field wall.

“I was watching it. He timed it up perfect, so I was a little sick about it, honestly,” Bellinger said. “But it was a good catch.”

“Boys were giving me a hard time after he robbed it. Boonie was giving me hard time,” Bellinger added.

A four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, Tucker snatched the ball as a fan tried for it, the spectator clasping both sides of the outfielder's glove.

“I caught the ball and he caught my glove, so I figured even if I dropped it they’d probably look at it and get it overturned," Tucker said. "I’ve probably had some encounters with me trying to go into the stands and catching a ball and me hitting someone’s hand or whatever but I don’t know if anyone’s ever actually kind of caught my glove while doing it.”

Bellinger homered in the eighth off Jordan Wicks, just above the red glove of leaping center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and into the dark glove of a kid in the front row.

“The fan just beat to the spot," Crow-Armstrong said. "He just had a better chance of catching it higher than I did.”

Bellinger, who had rounded first, watched and then smiled when he saw he had hit No. 3.

“Glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it,” said Bellinger, who met the boy after and got the ball back. “I’ve seen PCA rob so many homers. He’s a freak athlete out there.”

Bellinger is batting .406 over a career-high 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .285 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs.

He had spoken with his Cubs ex-teammates during batting practice.

“No, no, no revenge,” he said. “Honestly, ultimately it was just fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I hadn’t seen in a while and I shared a bunch of good memories with them for these past two years.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and manager Aaron Boone encouraged Bellinger to emerge from the dugout for a curtain call.

“He was a little reluctant, but then the Bell-lin-ger” over the dugout got pretty loud. So I think he succumbed to it," Boone said. “Belly’s loved being here and loved playing here in a meaningful place to him, going back to his childhood."

Bellinger turns 30 on Sunday and can opt out of the final season of his contract this fall. With long balls and wide smiles, he seems to have found a home in the Yankees clubhouse.

He tried not to make much of getting the three homers against the Cubs, but Bellinger's teammates could sense the significance.

“It’s always good to go against your old teammates that you spend a lot of time with, you know, you respect,” Boone said. “To perform right away against them I’m sure probably is a little cherry on top for him.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger (35) hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger reacts after lining out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)