A Democratic congressman from New York, Daniel Goldman, challenged Republicans to identify a case in which a sanctuary city or state failed to hand over an undocumented immigrant with a criminal conviction to the Department of Homeland Security after their sentence. The Department of Homeland Security responded by providing examples, intensifying the political dispute over whether sanctuary policies obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

Goldman, who represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, said sanctuary jurisdictions generally transfer removable criminal migrants after they complete criminal sentences. Republicans and DHS disputed that assertion, arguing that some local policies have prevented or limited cooperation with immigration authorities; the exchange reflects wider disagreement over public safety, local control and federal deportation policy.