See how the congressional hearing unfolded.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu testified on Wednesday before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee alongside three other Democratic mayors — Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver, and Eric Adams of New York — over their cities' policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
Here are the key highlights from the hearing:
Wu says ‘shame on him’ about Trump border czar Homan’s attacks on Boston
Wu blasted Tom Homan, President Trump’s “border czar,” who said he would bring “hell” to Boston.
“Shame on him for lying about my city,” Wu said. “For having the nerve to insult our police commissioner, who has overseen the safest Boston’s been in anyone’s lifetime. Bring him here under oath, and let’s ask him some questions. I am here to make sure that the city of Boston is safe. Others may want to bring hell. We are here to bring peace to cities everywhere.”
Boebert goes after Denver mayor
Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert asked Johnston if he would “join me today in calling and demanding that these sanctuary policies, these Colorado state laws, be repealed?”
”I do not believe the detainer law needs to be changed," he said. “We do coordinate with ICE presently.”
Bobert later asked Johnston about a Denver ordinance that she said calls for the firing of any city workers who speak to federal immigration officials.
“So now, let me ask you, would a city employee be fired for communicating with the EPA?” Boebert asked.
“Congresswoman, our policy is we don’t ask [about] people’s status,” Johnston said.
Wu says residents ‘are terrified’ of deportation threat
Wu was asked at one point how Boston’s “quality of life” would be affected if the Trump administration succeeded in forcing the city to redirect its budget toward helping with ICE raids.
“First, that is against the laws in Boston and Massachusetts,” Wu said. “But I’ve heard from so many community members, including residents who are immigrants, who are citizens, that they are terrified, and that means when people don’t feel comfortable reaching out to call 911 when they need help. ... It makes all of us less safe.”
GOP lawmaker appears to threaten mayors with jail
Representative Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican, mentioned the idea of jailing the mayors who were testifying Wednesday.
“One of you said you’re willing to go to jail” to defend city policies on immigration, Higgins said. “We might give you that opportunity.”
Josh Kraft joins pro-immigration rally
Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft, who is running against Wu, attended the rally at City Hall Plaza, to show his support for Boston’s immigrant community, he said.
He said he strongly supports the Boston Trust Act, which prevents local authorities from cooperating with requests from federal immigration officials to detain people solely based on their immigration status.
Kraft also emphasized he opposes President Trump’s ambitions to conduct mass deportations and said comments by Homan criticizing Boston are “reprehensible.”
“It’s unconscionable to think that [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement], teams of ICE members could walk into houses of worship, in schools, and remove immigrants … not involved in criminal activities, [it’s] despicable.”
Nancy Mace says mayors have ‘blood on your hands’
Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican known for attention-grabbing stunts, said all four mayors have “blood on your hands” due to their immigration policies.
“All of the mayors here today are actively working to harm the American people you represent,” Mace said. “You all have blood on your hands.”
She asked all the mayors including Wu a series of “gotcha” questions, including, “When an illegal alien rapes a woman, do you believe you are on the right side of history?”
Wu replied that rape is “obviously” horrific. Mace accused her of “letting rapists back out on the streets of Boston.”
“That is not true,” Wu said.
Representative Ayanna Pressley clashes with Republican committee chair
Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, verbally clashed with Representative James Comer, the committee chair, as she attempted to submit articles into the official record of the proceeding.
“I’d like to seek unanimous consent to enter into the record this article, and I do this as a survivor of sexual assault myself,” Pressley said after Mace accused mayors of letting rapists freely commit crimes.
Comer cut her off and said at one point, “This trend of you all trying to get thrown out of committee so you can get on MSNBC is going to end.”
Pressley continued stating that she wanted to enter articles into the record.
“This is my right,” Pressley said, her voice raised.
“No,” Comer said. “You know the process of unanimous consent.”
‘Do you all hate Donald Trump more than you love your country?’ Mace asks
Mace fired off a series of controversial questions during the hearing. Among the most notable, she asked: “Do you all hate Donald Trump more than you love your country?”
Wu responded firmly, “I love my country and my city.” She also affirmed that the city was not violating federal law.
Mace asked only Wu if she believed that ICE arresting a child rapist and a MS-13 gang member threatened residents' safety, to which Wu said, “No.”
At the end of her questions, Mace held up a sheet of paper, with a typed-up quote, which she attributed to Wu. ICE efforts “actually threaten the safety of everyone,” the quote read. “You’re a hypocrite,” Mace told Wu directly.
Another GOP lawmaker threatens mayors with legal sanctions
A Florida Republican lawmaker told Wu and the other mayors that she’s “going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation” of their policies.
“These will be going over to [Attorney General] Pam Bondi,” said Representative Anna Paulina Luna of the referrals. “I’m not doing that in an effort to bully you guys, but I do believe that your policies are harming the American people.”
But Pressley later praised Wu.
“Immigration is central to economic success of Boston, is it not?” Pressley asked after praising Wu’s public service record.
“Absolutely,” Wu said. “All of our key industries, whether it’s health care, life sciences, higher education, financial services, everything that we do depends on immigrant residents and the contributions that they make.”
Pressley says Trump ‘thinks he is king’
Pressley also took aim at Trump during remarks at the hearing.
“So here we have a man who thinks he is king screaming anti-immigrant slurs from the Oval Office,” Pressley said. “And what has it done to make Boston safer? Nothing. Not a thing. But it has traumatized our kids, cost our elders their dialysis, delayed cancer patients’ chemotherapy, and struck fear into the heart of hardworking people who not only contribute immensely to our city and our community, but whose labor and contributions are also essential to very functions of daily life in our great city.”
New Mexico lawmaker calls Trump’s immigration crackdown ‘total [expletive]’
A New Mexico Democrat slammed the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, using profanity to register her opposition.
“The DOJ is intimidating our mayors, and my colleagues across the aisle are producing TV ads to try to pretend that they’re making this country safe again,” Representative Melanie Stansbury said. “It’s [expletive], absolute [expletive]. They are not making America safer again, and what they are doing is terrorizing immigrant families.”
Wu tells N.Y. GOP member ‘check your facts’ when he brings up Chick-fil-A shooting
A New York lawmaker accused Wu of “stunningly” expressing sympathy for the knife-wielding man recently shot to death by an off-duty police officer at a Boston Chick-fil-A.
“Where’s the sympathy for the men and women in law enforcement trying to keep us safe?” Representative Nick Langworthy said.
“Congressman, check your facts,” Wu replied. “Watch the video.”
She said she did not voice sympathy for the suspect who was shot but for his family.
At the time, Wu also said, “I’m glad that the officer is safe and I’m very grateful for the quick response from all of our first responders here.”
Wu clashes with Virginia Republican
Wu also sparred briefly with a Republican lawmaker who said there are “at least nine accused child rapists” in the Boston area benefitting from city policies, quoting recent comments from Homan.
“That is false,” Wu said in response to Representative John McGuire of Virginia, adding that Boston’s crime rate is among the lowest in the country and lower “than your district.”
Homan recently mentioned what he called nine examples of child rapists being freed by Boston area authorities even though they were wanted by immigration authorities. Those people had not yet been convicted and were awaiting trial, and in some cases were being monitored by GPS bracelets.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at giulia.mcdnr@globe.com. Follow her @giuliamcdnr. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com. Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.