If you want to make us safe, pass gun reforms, stop cutting Medicaid, stop cutting cancer research, stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our city safe.”

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.

The Boston mayor usually doesn't seek the national spotlight, but she held her own when it shined on her Wednesday.