Boston mayoral candidates got an earful during a Wednesday forum — and a wake-call.

Prevailing wisdom from Massachusetts leaders has framed illegal immigrants as a group in need of funding, housing and protection from authorities. It was a given that the community was on board.

The jeers that followed Josh Kraft’s vow to defy the Trump administration’s mass deportation push told a different story.

At Dorchester’s Prince Hall, Yawu Miller of Flipside News posed a question about immigration to the four candidates taking part in the second forum of the mayoral race, Kraft, Mayor Michelle Wu, Domingos DaRosa, and Robert Cappucci.

“In today’s political climate, immigrant communities are increasingly under threat. How would you defend these communities and push back against harmful actions by ICE or a hostile federal administration,” Miller asked, before having to stop and say “excuse me” as the majority-Black crowd packed into an auditorium near the city’s troubled Mass and Cass intersection was reacting to his question.

He then continued, “What concrete strategies would you implement to ensure the safety and protection of all residents in Boston, regardless of immigration status?”

All communities are “under threat” — from high prices, the shortage of affordable places to live, crime in the streets and potential cuts in services as Washington holds back funding. They, like immigrants, want a good life for their families, a solid education for their children, and to be able to live in a safe, affordable neighborhood.

But no one’s spending $1 billion on their housing and care, even though the money Massachusetts has spent on illegal immigrants would have made an enormous difference in local communities.

DaRosa, a community activist and self-described immigrant, seemed to understand the assignment.

“There’s a lot we can do to support our immigration community,” DaRosa said. “What I like to say to us as a city is to also remember that we also have Bostonians who are also looking for those same rights, to make sure that we protect folks who live here who are looking for the same services.”

Bingo. And this is something Gov. Maura Healey should pay attention to: Massachusetts residents deserve the same attention and effort as immigrants. And they’re wise to the fact that they’re not always getting it. And they’re willing to make their feelings known, at least in a mayoral forum.

But Kraft, a son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner, stayed with the progressive playbook.

“I think it’s absolutely abhorrent that federal agents could walk into your place of work, your house of worship or your children’s schools and remove you, even if you have zero connection to violent crime,” Kraft said. “I’m completely against President Trump’s mass deportation plans, and I will stand with our immigrant community wholeheartedly, no matter who is in the White House.”

Mayor Wu blamed anti-immigration rhetoric for the crowd’s response. Big mistake. The crowd’s response was a litmus test for pols and leaders willing to listen. Immigration isn’t the only issue facing Boston residents, and their needs aren’t going away until the immigration issue is solved.

Housing, crime, and quality of life issues are paramount to every Bostonian. Nobody should be on the back burner.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)