Is Massachusetts a so-called sanctuary state? Is Boston a sanctuary city?

Conservatives certainly think so.

But Democrats like Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have different answers to what has become a lightning-rod discussion around immigration to the Bay State and the extent to which federal immigration authorities should interact with local law enforcement.

Healey made clear this past week that Massachusetts is “not a sanctuary state” when asked whether President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, succeeded in his pledge to bring “hell” to Boston when he visited the city earlier this month.

“State and local police continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement, federal agencies,” said Healey, who is running for reelection. “As a former attorney general, I can assure you that I’m doing everything I can to support the work of those in law enforcement to address issues of crime in communities. I’ll also remind people that Massachusetts is among the safest states in the country.”

It’s not a new line from Healey.

The governor has repeatedly said the state, including the Massachusetts State Police, cooperates with federal immigration authorities where they can. A seven-year-old court decision also bars police and courts from detaining people based solely on suspected civil immigration violations.

Wu, who is running for reelection this year against the son of a billionaire (and potentially a well-connected developer), has taken a different tact to approaching the issue, including during a Congressional hearing and an appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

The Roslindale Democrat has declared Boston as the “safest major city” in the country and told lawmakers in Washington that “a city that’s scared is not a city that’s safe.”

During her appearance on the “The Daily Show,” host Ronny Chieng asked Wu what she says to people in her constituency who feel like those who are illegally in the country should be arrested and deported.

The mayor said Boston is “the safest city because we’re safe for everyone.”

“In a community where over a quarter of your residents … were born in another country, if people are afraid to drop their kids off at school or call 911 when they need help or share information when they actually have information to report about a crime that happened, that makes everyone less safe, whether or not you are an immigrant, whether or not you are here in this country six generations or just arrived,” she said.

She also pushed back on the “false narrative” that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes or cause harm.

“That is simply not true,” Wu said. “We know that in our city, where our immigrant communities are entrepreneurs, are holding up the best hospitals in the country, the universities and jobs that we all rely on. And in order to make sure that we can keep that progress going, everyone has to feel part of it,” she said.

Wu and Healey are appealing to slightly different groups of voters.

Healey is set to face a Republican challenger next year who is sure to harp on the cost of the state-run shelter system, which came to house thousands of migrant families but has since seen a decline in the number of new arrivals.

The governor also needs to draw in voters from across the state, many of whom have shifted slightly to the right during the last presidential election and have shown a willingness to elect conservatives to the executive office in the past.

Wu is running in a solidly Democratic city where elected officials argue they have shed the age-old stereotype of being the most racist city in America and embraced more diverse and inclusive policies.

Local politicians have also made clear they back the city’s Trust Act, an ordinance that bars city policy and other departments from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on civil detainers.

Both Healey and Wu appear to have some desire to ascend to the national stage.

The jury is still out on which message on immigration will help them get there.