Mike Lawler, Jamie Raskin get into shouting match at sanctuary cities hearing

A House hearing on sanctuary city policies erupted into a chaos on Tuesday after a screaming match over immigration policies between Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

The confrontation broke out after Lawler, who appeared before the panel to introduce a witness, began his statement by condemning sanctuary city policies, saying places “like New York and Chicago blatantly disregard existing law and provide safe harbor to criminals.”

He was promptly interrupted by committee members who said he was only meant to introduce his witness, not make a political statement.

Lawler continued by discussing the murder of his constituent, 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, who he said was killed by an undocumented immigrant that could have been apprehended and deported by the Biden administration prior to the murder, but was not.

As committee members attempted to establish order, Lawler continued to bash Democrats and the Biden administration for its failure to act, arguing that it was necessary to introduce the witness, Gorman’s mother.

Tensions escalated when Lawler accused Raskin of not caring or feeling the outrage, causing the two to yell over each other.

“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,” Lawler said.

“I do feel that outrage!” Raskin replied.

“You should be ashamed of yourself!” Lawler shouted, calling Raskin a “disgrace” and pointing his finger at the Democrat.

“You don’t belong on this committee, you should get the hell out of here!” Raskin said. “You don’t understand the rules of this committee, you don’t understand the Constitution, you’re full of it.”

The committee condemned Lawler’s “outrageous outburst,” and Lawler yielded his time and left the hearing.