Swalwell: Sanctuary City Means We Don’t Deport Those Who Help ‘Make Our Communities Safer’



Video at link.

by Ian Hanchett 4 Feb 2026
1,211
On Tuesday’s “CNN News Central,” gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) stated that Democrats shouldn’t accept any changes to sanctuary cities as part of negotiations on DHS funding, and a sanctuary city means we don’t deport people “for helping to make our communities safer” by reporting crimes.

Co-host Boris Sanchez asked, “Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) says that Republicans are going to try to add a measure targeting sanctuary cities to the package. Is that something Democrats should negotiate on? What are you willing to concede for the changes that you want to see?”

Swalwell responded, “What I’m willing to concede is we should have a secure border, an asylum process that is swift and adjudicates the thousands of cases out there, and that we should remove the most violent people in our community.”

He added that “no small reform, like having a body camera, is going to be enough for the terror that they’ve imposed on our communities.”

Sanchez then asked, “So, what I’m hearing is that changes to sanctuary city policies at the federal level, to you, is a non-starter?”

Swalwell responded, “Right. And I just want people to understand what a sanctuary city means. It means that when an undocumented person is a victim of a crime, they are allowed to call the police and say they’re a victim of spousal abuse or they’ve been robbed or a friend has been murdered, and they saw that and they want to help solve the crime and we don’t deport them for helping to make our communities safer. That’s what a sanctuary city means. It doesn’t mean the police don’t go looking for bad guys. The police will look for bad guys regardless of your immigration status. We want them to do that. And so, I’m not allowing the debate to target the most vulnerable in our communities and keep them further in the shadows when we want them to be protected, more protected than what we’re seeing right now.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...unities-safer/