On Sunday, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski published an open letter on the city’s website. In it she outlined her concerns about the incoming presidential administration, and how she intends to maintain the city’s reputation for openness and inclusion.
In a letter titled "Keeping Salt Lake City Great," Mayor Biskupski addressed residents she’s been hearing from since the election.
"We’ve had a lot of phone calls and emails of people who are very concerned about this election and what it might mean on a very personal level for them," Biskupski said.
As a response, in her letter Biskupski reflected on Salt Lake City’s ongoing aggressive goals at reducing carbon emissions, ordinances to protect LGBTQ residents, and her promise that local police will not play a role in immigration checks.
"Our policies are very clear that we are not interested in trying to do a federal job of identifying someone’s immigration status," she said.
Biskupski says Salt Lake should not be considered a “sanctuary city” – a term mayors in cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York have taken on recently to show their protection of immigrants and religious minorities – but the policies here are similar.
"We know our country has a long history of oppression and that is a history I simply cannot or will not support in this role as mayor," Biskupski said.
The mayor said she will continue to support the positions and policies described in her letter going forward.