Thread: ALASKA: Plan to check citizenships dies in Assembly

Plan to check citizenships dies in Assembly
By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com
(Published: November 28, 2007)

A plan for police to routinely ask stopped drivers for proof they're American - or are legally visiting the U.S. - died this week.

Assemblyman Paul Bauer had pitched the idea, which he said would pull Anchorage from a list of so-called "sanctuary cities" that tolerate or welcome illegal immigrants. Critics lined up against the plan, saying it would only foster racism and wasn't needed.

Late in a Tuesday night meeting that focused mostly on the city budget, the Assembly took a surprise 8-3 vote to kill the proposal.

"It's so monstrously wrong, that we basically had to say look, it's not happening here. We're not going there. This is not the way ... Anchorage behaves," said Assemblyman Allan Tesche, who called for the vote.

Bauer and Assembly chairman Dan Coffey had agreed to try and delay the public hearing on the immigration issue until January, after the intense budget debate.

Bauer, Coffey and Assembly Dan Sullivan voted not to kill the proposal, which Bauer said has now died before it ever got a full public debate.

"When the Assembly stuck their head in the sand, to not look at the problem or debate the issue, they essentially marketed Anchorage as a sanctuary city," Bauer said.

The East Anchorage assemblyman proposed the new city law in September as a way for the city to team up with federal authorities and crack down on illegal immigrants.

It was based on a boilerplate ordinance written by a group in Washington, D.C., called the Immigration Reform Law Institute, which believes the federal government isn't doing enough to combat illegal immigration and that cities should pick up the slack.

The mayor rejects the notion that Anchorage is a sanctuary city and says the city already fully cooperates with federal immigration authorities.

In September, Bauer had said only some drivers would be asked for proof of citizenship, prompting fears of racial profiling.

How would police decide who looked un-American? Tesche asked.

But Bauer said today that his intention was for police to ask everyone pulled over during routine traffic stops for proof they're in the U.S. legally.

He compared it to being asked for your license and proof of insurance, and said a driver's license, visa or green card could all be proof of legal residence.

Immigrant advocacy agencies say the number is somewhat higher now, but the last official estimate by the U.S. Census for the number of undocumented immigrants in Alaska was 5,000 people as of 2000, putting Alaska among the states in the U.S. with the lowest estimated number of illegal immigrants.

Bauer's proposal tapped into a national debate over illegal immigration, immigrants rights and border security. Earlier this month, Bridge Builders of Anchorage, the city health and human services commission and the Assembly's public safety committee, led by Assemblyman Matt Claman, all said they opposed Bauer's plan.

Erick Cordero is spokesman for the Anchorage Immigrant Rights Coalition, a group that formed in opposition to Bauer's proposal.

Cordero said Tuesday's vote caught him by surprise too, saying the coalition was pleased but cautious about the news. "If something like this happens again, many members of the community are very concerned about the things that he tried to do and pull."

Bauer said the city has made a mistake by ignoring other issues - such as gangs - in the past, and that he's still interested in illegal immigration.

As for whether he'll resurrect his proposal, or a similar plan, in the future?

"I'm going to give it a rest for now," he said.

Reporter Julia O'Malley contributed to this story. Find Kyle Hopkins' political blog online at adn.com/alaskapolitics or call him at 257-4334.
http://www.adn.com/front/story/9484782p-9396042c.html

It's a shame the plan was shot down before it was debated by the assembly. Now is the time to nip the problem in the bud! Why wait until the currently estimated 5,000 illegals turn into 20,000. Why can't folks understand that preventive maintenance is always better than crisis management?