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Rep. Jim Jordan destroys Denver’s sanctuary Mayor in brutal five-minute beatdown

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee heard testimony from mayors of some of the country’s most pro-illegal immigrant cities, including Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver, and Eric Adams of New York.

At the center of the heated exchange was Abraham Gonzales, a Venezuelan gang member arrested by Border Patrol in September 2023 and later released into the United States due to the Biden administration’s weak immigration policies.

Instead of being deported, Gonzales made his way to Denver, where he quickly racked up a slew of criminal charges—including aggravated assault, motor vehicle theft, and felony menacing—all within months.

On March 26, 2024, Jordan’s office sent Denver officials a federal detainer request, asking for just 48 hours’ notice before releasing Gonzales to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents time to detain him safely.

Instead, Denver’s sanctuary city policies resulted in an astonishingly negligent decision—they gave ICE just one hour’s notice before releasing Gonzales onto the streets.

Jordan did not hold back, tearing into Johnston for his city’s reckless actions.

“You had him in custody for 345 days,” Jordan said. “I said, ‘Hey, can you give us 48 hours?’ You gave them one hour. One hour!”

Johnston attempted to downplay the situation, insisting that Denver had technically “notified” ICE before the release. However, the reality was far worse.

Instead of coordinating a controlled transfer, Denver dumped Gonzales into a parking lot with just a 60-minute warning, forcing six ICE agents to scramble and apprehend him. The chaotic arrest resulted in one officer being assaulted, and ICE agents were forced to use tasers to subdue Gonzales.

Jordan did not let Johnston off the hook.

“If you’d held him inside, it’d take two officers, not six,” Jordan fired back. “But you won’t do it that way—because you’re a sanctuary city.”

Johnston continued to defend Denver’s policies, touting statistics about the city’s handling of other releases, but Jordan was not interested in political spin.

“I’m asking about one—Mr. Abraham Gonzales, gang member, car thief, assaulter,” Jordan interrupted. “An officer got assaulted because of your policy!”

The Denver mayor weakly suggested he was open to working with ICE to adjust procedures, but Jordan made it clear that such half-measures were meaningless when the damage had already been done.

Jordan then delivered the hard truth about sanctuary policies—that they make communities more dangerous, not safer, especially for law enforcement officers who are left to deal with the consequences of reckless city leadership.

“I read your written testimony last night—four and a half pages,” Jordan said. “You used the words ‘safe,’ ‘safer,’ or ‘safety’ 13 times, talking about how your job is to protect your community. That’s a lie. Because it was not safer for the ICE agents who are part of your community. No way was it safer.”

He continued, hammering Johnston for his city’s failure to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

“The safest thing to do is to say, ‘ICE, we got him in custody. Come here, we’re releasing him.’ We held him 345 days. We can’t hold him a second longer? We can’t wait for you to come inside the building? We have to let him go, so you have to arrest him in the parking lot?”

Jordan’s final statement cut to the heart of the issue, laying bare the absurdity and danger of sanctuary policies.

“That is how stupid sanctuary policies are and what they mean to the community that you put at risk—and to the ICE officer who was assaulted.”