Mayors promoted fixes for affordability and public safety, and raised concerns over chaotic and escalated immigration enforcement

Washington, D.C. – Today, more than 250 bipartisan mayors convened in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayors 94th Winter Meeting at a critical moment for the country – advancing practical, cross-party leadership on affordability, housing, public safety and immigration challenges facing cities across the nation. 

“Just like real Americans do every day of their lives, we work together, across partisan lines, within our cities and amongst each other,” said USCM President and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. “And in our cities, working together with both vision and pragmatism, we get things done.”

Federal leaders in attendance recognized mayors for their power to break partisan gridlock and deliver solutions. 

“Your voices – the voices of America’s mayors – are critical,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) during a video address at the morning plenary. 

“On behalf of the American people, they trust you more than any other level of government,” said pollster Frank Luntz.

“Mayors are quite literally where rubber meets the road in American life today,” said Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). “Thank you, mayors, for maintaining a bipartisan relationship.”

Among the challenges facing cities, immigration enforcement was prominently discussed. 

At the opening press conference, mayors reiterated their calls to federal leaders to de-escalate tensions around immigration enforcement in cities like Minneapolis, following deadly incidents involving federal agents. 

 “We all agree that we want violent criminals to be off our streets, whether they were born here or arrived here,” said Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth Kautz. But she emphasized that past administrations from both parties have enforced immigration laws “through the proper channels – the rule of law, due process, rooted in the Constitution. In Minnesota, that is not our experience.”

“This country has been enforcing immigration laws for over 100 years and ICE has been around for over two decades,” Holt added. “This can be done without the chaos that we are seeing.”

That chaos threatens hard-fought public safety gains. “Over the past four years we’ve had a 44 percent reduction in homicides,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. 

Providence (RI) Mayor Brett Smiley, who joined Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer in leading a discussion on policing, underscored the common ground mayors often find on public safety. “Jerry and I are on opposite sides of the political aisle, we’re on opposite ends of the country. And yet we share a point of view on how to make our communities safer in almost every respect,” said Smiley.

Housing affordability was another major topic. 

“I bet there’s not a single colleague out there who wouldn’t say that housing is the primary or among the top concerns. Costs are skyrocketing,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at the lunch plenary. 

“Almost every American household is struggling to make ends meet with rising rents, home prices, healthcare costs, utilities, insurance, and food costs,” said Lansing (MI) Mayor Andy Schor at a panel with the Council on Metro Economies. “As mayors, we’re closest to the people, so we hear this every time we go into a grocery store.”

During a discussion on sustainability, Columbia (MO) Mayor Barbara Buffaloe elevated sustainability solutions that also address key issues facing cities, including public safety, housing development, and affordability. “These are challenges that we feel at the local level first,” said Mayor Buffaloe.

The responsible use of emerging technologies, like AI, also was a recurring theme throughout the day. “We’re being thoughtful about how AI can be used to address stress and challenges in our communities,” said San Antonio (TX) Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.

The Winter Meeting continues tomorrow and Friday.