SALT LAKE CITY – While President Trump and other lawmakers are trying to come to an agreement over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA act, some local governments are calling on him to reinstate it until a more permanent solution is found.
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski officially kicked off “Welcoming Week” in the city. She and other city officials are hoping to tell immigrants and refugees that Salt Lake is a welcoming city. She says, in the current political climate, many immigrants are too scared to get the services they’re entitled to. “They’re afraid to be identified and we want to make sure that people continue to go to school and that they continue to show up at work,” Biskupski says.
However, she says she’s encouraged that President Trump has reached across party lines and has asked Democrats to help find a solution. She adds, “Those discussions seem to be going very well. But, the president has to shore up Republican leadership.”
Officials in Summit County also say they’re pleased with the bipartisan effort in Washington D.C. Summit County and Park City declared similar resolutions that call on the President to reinstate the act. County Council Member Roger Armstrong says, “You have children living in our community that were brought here through no real choice of their own.”
He adds that the people who fall under the DACA umbrella have to be law-abiding citizens who contribute to the local economy. Armstrong says, “They’re the kind of residents that we like in the community. They contribute economically. They work on a volunteer basis for some of our non-profits.”