Boston Mayor Michelle Wu made another high-profile appearance Tuesday on The Daily Show where she bashed the Trump administration’s “false narrative” that immigrants are more likely to commit crime after hundreds of ICE Boston arrests.

Wu’s 15-minute interview on the widely watched late-night Comedy Central show continues her time in the national spotlight. The first-term mayor has emerged as a key face of the progressive resistance pushing back on the federal government’s mass deportation effort, which has focused on large sanctuary cities like Boston.

“I remember all the time growing up, my parents would say to me and my siblings in Mandarin, when you grow up, get a job that pays well, is very stable and won’t get you in trouble,” Wu, who grew up in an immigrant family, said. “So now I’ve been dragged before Congress, threatened with criminal prosecution.”

After pausing to join in on the crowd’s laughter at her remarks, Wu said, “But at the end of the day, this is where it matters. All of the programs that we’ve put in place, to keep the streets clean, to make our schools actually supportive for our students, to protect people in our communities in a really scary moment.”

Earlier this month, Wu testified before the Republican-led Congressional oversight committee alongside three other big-city mayors as part of the committee’s probe of sanctuary cities and their impacts on public safety. A House Republican referred Wu and two other mayors to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation.

Wu in her State of the City address last week vowed that Boston would continue to protect immigrants and criticized the Trump administration. Her speech drew a swift response from the White House, which slammed Boston’s mayor as a “radical.”

On her late-night appearance, she made similar remarks.

“We’re the safest city because we’re safe for everyone,” Wu said. “We’re really focused on being that home for everyone, and it’s worked. So all of that buzz around whether these kinds of cities that are more welcoming for immigrants are more dangerous. It’s about a false narrative that immigrants are somehow more likely to commit crimes or cause harm, and that is just simply not true.”

ICE Boston announced Monday that it arrested 370 “alien offenders” from March 18 to 23 in an “enhanced operation” focusing on transnational organized crime and gangs. Border czar Tom Homan said the sweep pushes back at sanctuary cities.

Wu has repeatedly drawn the ire of Homan, who had previously vowed to bring “hell” to Boston over the city’s limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities and said he personally oversaw last week’s ICE operation.

On Monday, a city spokesperson said Boston partners with “all levels of law enforcement to prevent crime and hold perpetrators accountable.”

Wu wasn’t asked about the ICE arrests during her Daily Show interview, which was largely a light-hearted affair with banter over whether Boston or New York, where the show is taped, is the superior city.

Wu drew a loud ovation when entering the studio for her interview, but received her only boos of the night when declaring Boston, and its sports teams, superior to New York City, which was roundly lambasted by the host, Ronny Chieng.

Chieng, a Malaysian comedian, repeatedly expressed disbelief that Wu as an Asian-American woman could be elected mayor in a city like Boston, which he said is “arguably one of the most racist cities in America.”

“I still don’t understand how you got elected,” Chieng said. “I mean, obviously you’re good at your job and you’re charming and all that. But that was enough for them to convince them?”

Wu, the first woman and person of color to be elected mayor of the city, said today’s Boston is “very diverse.”

“The Boston of today is a different city than a lot of people think,” Wu said. “But even in the Boston of today, we have a lot of work to do, just like every city.”

Related Articles

Boston city councilors press for clarity on how state ‘receivership’ will impact 2025 election

Boston business owner worries about future due to bike lanes after recovery from looting

Boston City Council weighing contentious new food delivery tax

Battenfeld: Ed Flynn canceled by progressive leaders in Boston

Trump White House slams Boston Mayor Wu as ‘radical’ for defying federal deportations

Chieng also expressed amazement that Wu could seemingly remain popular as a Democrat at a time when her party and its policies are so unpopular in the country. He mentioned that there is a “disconnect” today between the Democratic Party and the “common people.”

“What advice would you give to the Democrats running now about how not to be such (expletive) losers, or connect to the people more?” Chieng said.

Wu said that she found government “scary” while growing up with immigrant parents, but said she got into politics to “make a difference” in people’s lives.

The late-night segment, where it was also revealed that Wu is in a group chat with other Asian U.S. mayors, came on the same day that the mayor announced her plans to launch her formal reelection bid, on April 5.

Wu, who received 64% of the vote in her first mayoral election, is seeking a second term. She is facing a challenge from Josh Kraft, a son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and longtime philanthropist.