She stood up for the city and refused to cower in the face of threats and smears,” one of more than 480 respondents said.

The Congressional hearing was part of a federal investigation into so-called "sanctuary cities."Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, launched the probe back in January to look into what he described as "the policies of sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on public safety and federal immigration enforcement.

Wu was one of four Democratic mayors called before the committee. The three others — Eric Adams of New York City, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, and Mike Johnston of Denver — chose not to give the yes or no answer requested by Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina when she asked, “Is breaking into our country against the law?”