D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks to reporters at Trump Tower after meeting with the president-elect. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

More than 30 mayors and county executives—including Montgomery County’s Ike Leggett—sent a letter today to President Barack Obama, urging him to strengthen his support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and to protect the 700,000 young immigrants who are part of the program, known as “Dreamers.”

It follows a letter given to President-elect Donald Trump by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in early December calling for him to support DACA when he takes office, despite the anti-immigrant policies that helped define his campaign and which he continues to stand by.

While mayors from New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Baltimore, and more signed both letters, there’s one big city mayor conspicuously absent from both—D.C.’s Muriel Bowser.

The executive office of the mayor says not to read too much into the absence of her name.

“The Mayor’s office receives countless letters requesting a signature and we are not always able to sign on before each one is publicly released,” said her director of communications, Kevin Harris, in a statement sent to DCist. “However, the Mayor has been clear and unequivocal about her support for immigrants, particularly the District remaining a sanctuary city.”

Shortly after the election, Bowser issued a brief statement reaffirming D.C.’s status as a sanctuary city, meaning that D.C. law enforcement officers can’t ask about immigration status during stops and the city has limited cooperation with federal authorities to turn people over for deportation. The designation also holds symbolic power.

However, local activists criticized what they saw as a tepid stand. In a heated confrontation a week after the election, protesters called on Bowser to “not make such a weak statement. We want you to say specifically that you will not work with police.”

At the time, she told the protesters that “I appreciate the anxiety that people feel, but your anger should not be addressed at your mayor because your mayor has stood up in every case for this community, period.”

Today, her office’s response to the letters, and Bowser’s lack of involvement, is similar.

“If letters were all we had to stand on instead of a proven track record of fighting for immigrant communities, then there would be some concern,” Harris said in a follow-up email. “The Mayor has put more emphasis on action over rhetoric, and as a result immigrant communities know she will continue to stand with them.”

Bowser is also in a different situation than her mayoral colleagues. For one, D.C. faces constant meddling from Congress, which many public officials fear will worsen with Republicans in charge of all three branches of government.

In 2015, for instance, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) introduced a bill in the House that would fine the city if it did not cooperate with feds on immigration orders. And there’s far less assurance of a presidential veto threat over legislation that erodes home rule.

Meanwhile, the president-elect is also suing D.C. over the tax bill for his new hotel at the Old Post Office, a suit his company refiled after the election.

Bowser, who received $9,000 in donations from the Trump family for her election and inaugural committees in 2014, met with Trump in early December. While she declined to get into the specifics of their conversation, she said, “The one thing I know emphatically that he said is that he is a supporter of the District of Columbia.”

Trump can’t say the same of D.C. residents—garnering only 4 percent of votes in the city.

Bowser plans on attending the inauguration.

The letter sent to the president today was organized by the Cities for Action coalition, a group of 100 mayors and other political leaders on a local level that says it “stands in support of stronger cities through immigration action.” Her office confirmed that Bowser remains a member of the coalition.

Of the 31 leaders who did sign on, Leggett was one of the only county executives. “As a welcoming community, Montgomery County, Maryland has become a magnet for talented people from every corner of the globe,” he said in a statement. “We are working hard every day to make sure that the individuals and families that make up our diverse population of more than one million people feel safe and have the resources they need to thrive.”