SALT LAKE CITY ā Jake Helling didn’t mince words as he voiced his displeasure with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Salt Lake City’s response to recent events, such as the fatal shooting of Renee Good last week that sparked recent protests.
“Inexpeciably, our municipal officials have failed to make any effort to exercise the abundance of legal options available to them in order to end these heinous crimes,” he said, as a group of people packed behind him snapped their fingers to signal their agreement.
Helling was one of over 100 people who showed up to the meeting, calling on Salt Lake City to cease any voluntary cooperation with ICE. One by one, people stepped up to the podium or called in to outline their concerns with the federal agency.
Enough people showed up that they filled out an overflow room set up across the hall from the main chamber. The meeting even briefly stopped so city staff could roll out a computer screen in the hallway for the people spilled out there.
The crowd remained civil throughout. Several held up signs reading “agree” and “disagree” signs every time someone commented. Some also hoisted yellow signs reading “ICE Out of Utah.”
Most came to vent their frustrations against federal actions, but many also asked the city to call them out and end any connections with ICE, and refuse any future actions, such as 287(g) partnerships. Some called on other tactics, like distributing rights information to residents so they know what to do when encountered by federal officers, requiring judicial warrants before city resources are accessed or passing a resolution calling for the end of ICE.
“We demand that you step it up, and get ahead of what we’ve seen in Minnesota, in (Los Angeles), in Philadelphia, in Oregon and West Valley,” said resident Kaile Akina.
While the Salt Lake City Police Department collaborates with federal agencies, including ICE, in some instances, it doesn’t collaborate with ICE on “immigration-related operations,” said Rachel Otto, chief of staff for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, as city leaders tried to reassure the audience about the situation.
It doesn’t provide any funding, doesn’t plan to share information with ICE over immigration issues and will not sign a 287(g) agreement, she added. She said Salt Lake City police will assist anyone, regardless of immigration status, to ensure every resident’s safety.
City officials find themselves in a difficult situation when it comes to the concerns, said Salt Lake City Council Chairman Alejandro Puy. The city, he says, doesn’t have the authority to outright ban ICE or change how it enforces certain policies in the city, but it can show leadership.
It can be “watchful and caring” for residents, stepping up whenever necessary, like what happened in Millcreek last year. City leaders there refuted an ICE-related traffic stop after a video contradicted claims that an officer made about an incident.
But the city also doesn’t want itself in a situation that puts residents at risk by provoking federal agencies with statements and resolutions, said Puy, an immigrant from Argentina, referencing situations in other U.S. cities.
“There’s always the concern there will be an overreaction to those things. ā¦ That’s the balance we want to strike, because we don’t want to hurt our neighbors by trying to signal our values,” he told KSL, noting that the city and state have long supported immigrants, which he said is represented in the diverse City Council.
“There’s a lot of people in fear, and there’s a lot of people asking for leadership,” he added. “This city is standing up (for) all the residents, including immigrants, who are the engine of this community.”
Yet, many who showed up said they want more.
Brian Pantle thanked city leaders for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic and windstorm in 2020, as well as more recent events, like selecting new city flags to bypass state restrictions and helping rebuild after the Main Street fire.
That’s the type of energy he said he’d like to see when it comes to ICE enforcement.
“I am asking you to bring the same resolve to this moment. ā¦ My friends express fear for their own families,” he said, choking up as he spoke. “That tells me this isn’t abstract; it’s not politics. It’s deeply personal.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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