MILLCREEK, Utah — Concerned about residents in his city possibly being forced out of the country against their will, Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini is investigating the situation to make sure they are able to explore all legal avenues to stay.
"I want to make it clear, I'm not saying that Millcreek is a sanctuary city by any means," Silvestrini said Friday. "I recognize that under the law there are consequences for folks without documentation who are here in our country without legal status; however, if you have legal status, you should be able to enjoy that legal status and everyone, no matter who they are, is entitled to due process of law under our Constitution."
Similar to instances being seen across the country during the second term of President Donald Trump, several Millcreek families over the past week have received letters from the Department of Homeland Security telling them they need to leave the U.S. Attorneys for the families say they are in the country legally, including one family who fled Venezuela for safety reasons.
Families, students in country legally surprised with sudden orders to leave U.S.:
The mayor plans on contacting Millcreek's congressional delegation, led by Rep. Burgess Owens, to see if his office can provide any assistance, as well as promoting a GoFundMe page to assist the families.
Millcreek residents are still grappling with the fact that this happened in their own backyard. Emma beaird works in the city, and while she does not have a personal tie to the families, the emotion when she heard the news hit the same.
“I can’t imagine, I can't imagine what that would be like," she said. "This is their life. So to tell someone that you have a week, I mean, it would change everything. I can't imagine the psychological damage that that would do.”
Beaird, who's also studying at Salt Lake Community College, feels so much more needs to be done.
“There needs to be someone advocating for these people. There needs to be checks and balances," she said. "I feel like that's the biggest problem we have in our government today. I feel like there are things going unchecked, unmonitored.”
While acknowledging his position may not match those of federal agencies in charge of immigration, Silvestrini believes it's his duty to protect those he was elected to govern.
"I don't have any illusions about the extent of my power," he said. "I'm the mayor of a city of 65,000 people, which some people would consider to be a pretty small place. What I can do is use my soapbox, if you will, to ensure that the constitutional rights of all persons in the United States are observed.
"I think I owe that to people because I may have a voice that's maybe a little more elevated than the average citizen. I don't have delusions of grandeur about that, but I think that that's my job."
Utah family says father was deported without due process despite no criminal record:
This is not the first time Silvestrini has gone up against federal agencies he believes are acting improperly.
In February, the mayor sent a letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, condemning its agents who had wrongfully claimed a man had intentionally swerved his vehicle towards them. Video later failed to show the driver had many any more towards the agents.
Millcreek mayor claims ICE agents 'trampled the rights' of resident:
Once again, Millcreek is back in the spotlight, one Silvestrini says is deserved, but not for the current circumstances.
"We have a lot of great things going on in Millcreek, including our diverse refugee community," he said, "and I wish that the spotlight was on Millcreek for a better reason."
