Chicago alderman says Mayor Brandon Johnson can't defend sanctuary city policies: 'Lamb to the slaughter'

A Chicago alderman said Mayor Brandon Johnson has "no defense" ahead of his congressional testimony on the sanctuary city's policies. 

"As far as the mayor going to D.C., he's going like a lamb going to the slaughter," Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano told Fox News Digital.

"There's no answer for this," the alderman of Chicago's 41st ward said about how the city's policies have impacted residents. "We should not have been a sanctuary city to begin with. You're punishing taxpayers by using their money to help the illegals."

Johnson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston are set to defend their cities’ sanctuary status before Congress on Wednesday.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is criticizing ICE operations there. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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During a news conference last week, Johnson previewed his stance, emphasizing his commitment to defending Chicago's policies.

"We’re going to hold to our values, and whether or not we can get our message across in that particular room doesn’t mean that I’m gonna stop delivering the message of hope," he said. "March 5 or any other day I’m gonna show up, I’m gonna show up for the people of Chicago as I’ve always done."

On the city's website, Johnson touts the "city's 560,000 foreign-born residents."

"Chicago will always be a welcoming city and a champion for the rights of our immigrant and refugee communities," he wrote.

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Migrants are led from one bus to another bus after arriving from Texas at Union Station on Sept. 9, 2022 in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Napolitano, a first-generation American, said that Chicago's sanctuary city policies were put to the test when illegals flooded the Windy City.

"When we first became a sanctuary city, it was easy to do. It was a pat on our administration's back, because the [southern] border is 1,450 miles away," he said. "But when they came, and they came in large amounts – up to 50,000-60,000 people – it hurt our infrastructure."

He shared that the city was not prepared to provide free housing for the tens of thousands of migrants.

"It hurt a city that is already facing an astronomical amount of crime here because of policies that have been passed by progressives and socialists," he said. "It's made the criminal more of the victim and the victim more of the criminal."

"They're bringing all these people here and promising a better way of life," he said. "But they have no programs set up for them."

Demonstrators face off with Chicago PD after they breach the barrier outside the United Center where the DNC is being held in Chicago on Monday, Aug. 19 2024. Pro-Hamas demonstrators descended on the Windy City to protest the U.S. government's handling of the conflict in the Middle East. (Fox News Digital)

The absence of programs has contributed to a rise in migrant-related crime, adding to the city's ongoing struggle with crime rates, Napolitano said.

"There's a lot of people just standing around doing nothing that, who are, unfortunately, reverting to crime, looking for a way to support themselves and their family," he said. "It happened in my own ward. We had a homicide of a man by two illegal immigrants that had murdered him."

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To add to the city's compounding problem, police are struggling to attract and retain officers.

"When I became a Chicago police officer, I took the test in 1997, I took it with over 45,000 possible candidates. They can't get more than 2,000 people to take this job now, or to take the test, to take the job because they're fearful to take this job," he said. 

Operation Lone Star

In 2022, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced Operation Lone Star to bus migrants to sanctuary cities around the country. Abbott said he was doing it to prevent Texas from shouldering "the burdens imposed by open-border advocates in other parts of the country."

In Abbott's controversial program, Texas bussed more than 102,000 migrants to sanctuary cities around the country, with Chicago receiving approximately 51,000 migrants since August 2022.

WATCH: Chicago residents fed up with spending on illegal immigrant

In recent years, resident frustration has boiled over at city council meetings after elected leaders proposed tax hikes to address the city’s budget deficit, as the city grappled with spending more than half a billion dollars on housing and feeding migrants. 

"The taxpayers are paying for and funding this illegal migrant crisis," South Side resident Danielle Carter previously told Fox News Digital. "So, therefore, it's not fair to us because they are taking our resources. They are spending our tax dollars on people who crossed the border illegally. I think everybody who came over here illegally should get deported and come back legally."

President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Pool via AP)

Johnson's hearing on Wednesday is likely to represent a flash point in the ongoing battle between the city and the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the Trump administration.

The Trump administration is attempting to strip sanctuary cities of all federal funding, with Chicago receiving approximately $4 billion annually from the federal government.

From left to right, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are scheduled to testify before Congress. (Getty/AP)

Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the committee’s chair, has accused all four mayors of prioritizing "criminal illegal aliens over the American people."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson's office for comment.

Fox News’ Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.

Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the "Defund the police" movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump's life and illegal immigration.

She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.