Chicago City Wire

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the U.S. now looks like it might have had slavery never been banned, and that President Donald Trump "believes he is a supreme being."

Johnson also said members of the U.S. Congress should focus more on slavery reparations, rather than arresting and deporting illegal alien criminals in his city.

Johnson made the comments at a press availability on Thursday.

Johnson was asked whether he would go to Washington, D.C. to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on on so-called “sanctuary cities."

“The next time you talk to the committee chair, ask him if he would be interested in doing a hearing on how (slavery) reparations can transform people’s lives,” Johnson said.

“This Oversight Committee, of all the things that they want to have sight over, they should look at the White House right now,” Johnson said. “That White House is being ran in one of the most raggedy forms of government that I have ever seen.”

“If anybody is questioning what our country would look like had the confederacy won (the Civil War), there should be no question now,” Johnson said. “I will not be intimidated by some weak individual who won’t stand up who believes he’s a supreme being right now. 

“If they want to have a real discussion about (illegal aliens) who are criminals, they should look at the very individuals who enslaved my people and colonized this land," he said.

The chairman of the committee, U.S. Rep. Jim Comer (R-KY), said he expects Johnson to be there. If he doesn’t come voluntarily, Comer will subpoena him, compelling Johnson to attend, or be held in contempt of the U.S. Congress.

In a letter dated Jan. 27, Comer invited Johnson to testify on Feb. 11 at 10:00 a.m. before his committee.

"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States and their impact on public safety and the effectiveness of federal efforts to enforce the immigration laws of the United States," Comer wrote. "Sanctuary jurisdictions andtheir misguided and obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities, making Americans less safe. Chicago is a sanctuary jurisdiction that refuses to fully cooperate withfederal immigration enforcement. To provide much needed oversight of this matter, the Committee requests documents and information related to the sanctuary policies of Chicago."

Comer also invited the mayors of other so-called "sanctuary cities," including New York, Denver and Boston, which is led by Mayor Michelle Wu, who attended Barrington H.S.