Democratic governors, aside from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), are being challenged by President Donald Trump and immigration politics, as protests across the nation crop up.

The blue-state governors, many of whom are possible 2028 presidential contenders, are being analyzed over prior statements regarding immigration enforcement.

Scrutiny over the Democrats’ records was on full display on Thursday as Govs. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and Tim Walz (D-MN), both speculated to be 2028 Democratic presidential candidates, testified before the House Oversight Committee as sanctuary state governors, alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY).

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The blue state governors were grilled by Republican lawmakers on their immigration policies as the country grapples with Trump’s decision last weekend to become the first president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to federalize 4,000 California National Guard members to respond to the Los Angeles protests. Those demonstrations devolved into violence on Sunday as protesters tried to stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting raids and arresting alleged criminal illegal immigrants at their workplaces. The president later deployed 700 active-duty U.S. Marines to the city to assist ICE agents, National Guard members, and local police officers.

Their appearance comes as Democrats attempt to strike a balance between supporting law-abiding illegal immigrants, free speech, and border security as Trump and his aides underscore the simpler message that he is strong on illegal immigration and law and order. Those are issues on which he polls well with the general public.

“Partisans want to see Democrats stand up to Trump even if they don’t go as far as David Hogg‘s war on unseat ‘asleep-at-the-wheel’ Democratic officeholders,” University of Minnesota Center for the Study of Politics and Governance Director Lawrence Jacobs told the Washington Examiner.

Jacobs was referring to Hogg, who was a Democratic National Committee vice chair until this week when he was forced out for primarying incumbents, particularly elderly incumbents.

“Trump may be picking a fight on his top issue, immigration. He’ll find Dems who welcome the fight as an opportunity to demonstrate their fighting spirit to ‘bully’ Trump back,” he said. “How the Dem hopefuls fight back will matter. Walz has used muscular and biting language to attack Trump —  pushing to ‘change the attitude’ of the party and ‘bully the s***’ out of President Donald Trump.”

But in that regard, Pritzker appeared to perform better on Thursday. Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee who has been criticized for his advocacy for illegal immigrants and his perceived lack of leadership during the riots prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police Department custody in 2020, came under more scrutiny during the hearing.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), for example, pressed Walz on his endorsement of guidance from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison recommending that local law enforcement not cooperate with ICE agents and previous comparisons of those agents to Trump’s “Gestapo.” Meanwhile, Walz, who similarly struggled during his debate against eventual Vice President JD Vance, remained adamant his state is not a sanctuary state.

“You claim you’re not a sanctuary state. You just provide free healthcare, free college, and driver’s licenses to illegal aliens,” Emmer told Walz.

In his opening statement, Walz told the committee “securing our border does not mean we sacrifice our constitutional values.”

“Unfortunately, the cruel and misguided policies of this current administration fail to live up to those values,” he said. “Minnesotans are angry with what they’ve seen happen to their neighbors.”

In contrast, Pritzker took a more assertive posture during the hearing in which he was also niggled on off-topics, including Illinois’s transgender policies.

“It’s wrong to deploy the National Guard and active-duty Marines into an American city over the objection of local law enforcement just to inflame a situation and create a crisis,” he said on the topic of immigration. “We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders. We will not ignore the Constitution. We will not defy the Supreme Court. We will not take away people’s rights to peacefully protest.”

Pritzker made early 2028 headlines in April when he told the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, a must-stop event for Democratic presidential candidates, that “Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.” He also denounced what he described as “do nothing Democrats.”

“They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have,” he said at the time. “We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.”

Pritzker has been compared to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), who has worked to have a cordial relationship with Trump. That has resulted in the recapitalization of Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base, but also a photograph of her hiding her face behind a folder in the White House‘s Oval Office.

“This is one of those moments where, as a public servant, you’re reminded your job is to put service above self and that’s what it was all about,” Whitmer told Pod Save America in April.

Northeastern University political science professor Costas Panagopoulos emphasized that dynamic. He contended “voters have been frustrated and critical with Democrats for not putting up more of a fight against the Trump administration’s policies and priorities.”

“Many Democrats will likely welcome Newsom’s approach and embrace his willingness to step up, and he could well fill the leadership vacuum in the Democratic party right now as other high-profile figures have decided to adopt a more muted strategy,” Panagopoulos told the Washington Examiner. “Of course doing so also puts a target on Newsom’s back. So the strategy is risky for Newsom, but it could pay off in spades.”

Democratic strategist Christopher Hahn added Newsom’s management of the Los Angeles riots “is getting a ton of attention for responding to Trump’s overreach.”

“Democrats have [momentum], but it’s too soon to tell how or if this positions him for 2028,” Hahn told the Washington Examiner.

To that end, Pritzker, Walz, and Hochul all welcomed Trump border czar Tom Homan arresting them for hampering ICE operations after the president encouraged his aide to detain Newsom earlier this week. Newsom condemned the move as “an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”

“If Tom Homan comes to Albany to arrest me, I’ll say go for it,” Hochul said on Thursday. “Anything threatening our responsibility is an assault on our democracy.”

Trump has dismissed the idea that his calls for Newsom’s arrest have provided the governor with a political advantage by outraging Democrats, despite his own arrests helping him during last year’s election. He conceded later Monday that Newsom “likes the publicity.”

“I don’t think it’s going to help him,” Trump told reporters. “I think it’s actually very bad for him.”

Although the incident between Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and law enforcement after he interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference in Los Angeles dominated the news on Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta was in court for Newsom in San Francisco asking a federal judge to stop Trump and his administration deploying the National Guard and Marines to the area.

Protests have been reported elsewhere across the country, including in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Austin. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has already deployed the National Guard in Texas in case demonstrations become violent. Arrests have also been made in Seattle and Spokane, Washington, before expected ICE workplace raids in at least three other cities in the coming days and weeks.

Democratic policies regarding immigration have evolved as attitudes, even among Latinos, have hardened after record border crossings during former President Joe Biden‘s administration. Trump’s policies are generally popular, with an average of 50% approving to 48% disapproving of his immigration stances, according to RealClearPolitics.