A House hearing on immigration policy devolved into a chaotic shouting match Tuesday, illustrating the tension over an issue that has defined the Trump era.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and Democrat Jamie Raskin erupted at each other during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the “sanctuary” policies in some jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities.
Lawler drew the ire of Raskin as he introduced as a witness the mother of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old college student from his home state who was killed in March in Chicago — allegedly by a Venezuelan with no legal status in the U.S.
The New York lawmaker accused Democratic lawmakers of having more sympathy for Renee Good and Alex Pretti, U.S. citizens who were shot to death by immigration agents in Minneapolis, than people like Gorman and Laken Riley, who was killed in Georgia in 2024 by a Venezuelan without legal status.
“While some of my colleagues may not want to hear the truth, the same outrage you feel about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, you should feel about Sheridan Gorman and Laken Riley and every angel family in this country,” Lawler said.
That drew an outburst from Raskin:
“I do feel that outrage,” Raskin said, prompting Lawler to shout back, “You do not!”
The Maryland lawmaker then challenged Lawler: “Do you feel the outrage for Alex Pretti and Renee Good?”
Then came the chaos: Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the ranking member of the committee, told Lawler he was reading a statement, not an introduction, then called on Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, the chair, to suspend Lawler’s comments.
Still, Lawler and Raskin continued to yell at each other.
“You don’t belong in this committee. You should get the hell out of here!” Raskin told Lawler. “You don’t understand the rules of the committee. You don’t understand the Constitution. You’re full of it!”
Lawler responded by yelling that Raskin should be “ashamed” of himself for not opposing sanctuary city policies.
Neither Raskin nor Lawler’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.
“Thanks to Mr. Lawler’s outrageous outburst, we will not allow this to happen again,” Jayapal said following the verbal altercation. “This was an agreement between the chair and the ranking member. And unfortunately, you’re not able to control your members.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misspelled Renee Good’s name.
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