Immigration debate with Paul Bauer and Erick Cordero


Interview by John Tracy
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Assemblyman Paul Bauer has resurrected his effort to get Anchorage police to enforce federal immigration laws.

Last November, Bauer proposed a city ordinance that would require police to ask traffic violators for proof they are in the U.S. legally.

The law would have also required police be trained to help federal immigration authorities crack down on illegal immigrants.

The mayor didn't like it, police didn't like it, Anchorage's minority communities didn't like it and neither did a majority of Bauer's colleagues on the Assembly, who killed the idea a few weeks later.

Bauer now wants Anchorage voters to decide the issue, and will ask his fellow Assembly members to put the question on next April's ballot.

Bauer and Erick Cordero, president of the Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska joined Channel 2 News for an exclusive interview.

Channel 2 News: This would be advisory only. Tell us, what do you think police should do when stopping a motorist and why?

Assemblyman Paul Bauer: I expect the Anchorage Police Department to be part of our first responders in dealing with all sorts of crimes. The police are the first to encounter such situations with traffic stops and criminals on the streets. This additional task for them is to conduct a simple inquiry into the status of the person in detention.

News: Using the latest census data, Dept. of Labor Economist Neil Fried estimates there may be in the neighborhood of 2,300 illegal aliens in Anchorage, though of course, nobody knows for certain. But 2,300 out of a population of nearly 300,000 seems pretty small. Is there a problem with illegal immigrants in Anchorage we should be aware of?

Bauer: Just because the numbers aren't that high, and to some folks I think that is a high number, we can't diminish the importance. My numbers show that there are 7,000 to 12,000 illegal aliens in the state of Alaska.

We've been reported to in the Assembly that there are 700 or 800 gang members in the city we don't take that very lightly. I don' think we should take the issue of any lawbreaker into this country or into this city very lightly.

News: You're equating illegal aliens with gang members?

Bauer: What I'm equating is the numbers. We don't want to diminish the numbers to the intent of what we're trying to do here. I'm asking for the municipality to be part of that security effort.

News: Mr. Cordero, the last time Assemblyman Bauer raised this issue you helped organize an ad hoc committee to fight it. What are your concerns?

Erick Cordero, Hispanic Council of Alaska: The concerns of the Coalition of Alaska Immigrants Rights was that the ordinance that Mr. Bauer proposed the first time had a lot of problems that went beyond the scope of what he said he was trying to achieve.

We were concerned about the potential for racial profiling because unless police officers asked every single person they detained for their status it would encourage some type of profiling. That's something we completely oppose. A majority of agencies that oppose this ordinance oppose that portion.

Also Mr. Bauer has not provided information on how much this is going to cost, what the length of the training will be, how many resources will have to be diverted so that those officers get trained and become deputized federal agents.

News: Would you be offended if a police officer asked you for your identification?

Cordero: I guess it would depend on the context, but certainly. It's just not something that you ask someone lightly. If everyone gets asked in an impartial way I would not be offended. If I get asked because I have an accent, I'd certainly be.

News: Mr. Bauer, the Assembly last time was 8-3 opposed to your idea. What makes you think it's any different now?

Bauer: What happened the first time was that the public was denied a public hearing on the issue. It was squashed right away to move forward on public testimony. I want to put this out there as an advisory vote for folks to express their opinions on this.

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