Thread: Assemblyman wants police to ask citizenship

Assemblyman wants police to ask citizenship

CRACKDOWN: Bauer says law would keep Anchorage from becoming "a gateway for illegals."

By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com

Published: September 10, 2007
Last Modified: September 10, 2007 at 01:55 AM

Sir, can I please see your license, registration and proof that you're an American?


Assemblyman Paul Bauer says he wants to strike Anchorage from a list of "sanctuary cities."

Assemblyman Paul Bauer is proposing a new city law that could have police asking certain drivers if they are U.S. citizens during routine traffic stops. It's part of a proposal that would force local police to team up with federal immigration authorities to crack down on illegal immigrants.

"It's a preventative measure," Bauer said Friday. "Let's not be a gateway for illegals."

The proposal is on the agenda for the Assembly's Tuesday meeting. It's based on a boilerplate ordinance written by a group in Washington, D.C., that believes the federal government isn't doing enough to target illegal or undocumented immigrants and it's up to cities and states to pick up the slack.

Last week, as Bauer's proposal became public, downtown Assemblyman Allan Tesche said the plan would only stir up paranoia and hatred of immigrants.

"Why doesn't Mr. Bauer help us all and pin yellow stars on these immigrants?" he asked in a sarcastic reference to the marking of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Bauer says he wants to strike Anchorage from a list of "sanctuary cities" circulating in conservative circles. Definitions vary, but so-called sanctuary cities are generally seen as communities that protect or tolerate illegal immigrants.

Mayor Mark Begich doesn't support the proposed law, which his spokeswoman, Julie Hasquet, said is pointless.

"We don't need this," she said. "We are already cooperating fully with the federal immigration officials and we are not a sanctuary city."

Either way, Bauer's proposal embroils the Anchorage Assembly in a national argument over immigration law that touches on terrorism, the Patriot Act, civil rights and, in this case, talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

LET THE FEDS DO IT

In July 2003, the Anchorage Assembly joined the state and other Alaska cities in protesting the U.S.A. Patriot Act with a two-page resolution.

Proposed by Tesche, the resolution said the city wouldn't help the federal government by, say, collecting information on people's religious beliefs, tracking their library records or racially profiling those who live here. It also said that unless necessary to protect public safety, the city would not "Use municipal resources or institutions for the enforcement of federal immigration matters, which are the responsibility of the federal government."

Tesche said at the time that the Patriot Act could demand that local police help or launch immigration investigations that they don't have the time or training for.

Bauer says this put Anchorage on a list of "sanctuary cities" for illegal immigrants -- a list often culled from a footnote in a 2006 report on immigration law by the Congressional Research Service, the research arm of the U.S. Congress.

Conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly publicized the list, putting Anchorage in the cross hairs of people who say federal and local governments should do more to catch illegal immigrants.

City Hall says the label is wrong, and Hasquet and the mayor have both e-mailed O'Reilly in protest, Hasquet said: "I went to their site today and it said 'e-mail Bill.' So I did."

Some cities, such as Chicago, ban police from asking people if they are legal U.S. citizens, according to The Associated Press. Anchorage has no such rule, Hasquet said.

Anchorage Police Department Capt. Bill Miller said the 2003 resolution -- which is not a law -- did not change the way police work with immigration authorities.

"We enforce any law that we have the opportunity to enforce," he said.

TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT

Bauer said his proposal is based on a draft law written by the Immigration Reform Law Institute.

Staff attorney Sharma Hammond says the group has helped draft immigration policies for the states of Oklahoma, Colorado and Georgia. She said the idea is for local authorities to team up with Homeland Security to get training so they can catch illegal immigrants.

It is unclear how the proposed law would work, but here's how Bauer pictures it: An Anchorage police officer with special immigration training might stop someone for a broken taillight. The officer could then ask the driver for proof he or she is a U.S. citizen, which could include checking a driver's license as well as checking national databases.

If the officer determines the driver is an illegal immigrant, he or she could be handed over to federal immigration authorities.

Bauer said he's not clear on the details of the process, which he said would have to be worked out by the federal government and local police. As written, the proposal appears to say that police would routinely ask everyone they detain if they are a U.S. citizen, but Bauer said that's not his intent and could be fixed with a rewrite of the proposal.

Lt. Paul Honeman said the Police Department generally stays out of debates over Assembly proposals but also doesn't have any plans to make its officers into quasi-immigration agents.

"We don't have the resources," he said. "We believe we have other issues to deal with."

Bauer said the problem is that the city is on record saying it won't use its resources to enforce immigration laws and he wants to get people at least talking about illegal immigration in Alaska.

Even if the proposal proceeds as scheduled, any public hearing would still be weeks away.

Find Kyle Hopkins' political blog online at adn.com/alaskapolitics or call him at 257-4334.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/9291990p-9206479c.html

"Why doesn't Mr. Bauer help us all and pin yellow stars on these immigrants?" he asked in a sarcastic reference to the marking of Jews in Nazi Germany.

I'm all for that. We need to identify who these illegals are, no matter how it's done. For all we know, they could be terorrists dressed like Mexicans. This stinkin federal government is making it really easy for terrorists to come here undetected.

If these people are going to be so arrogant as to cross our borders without permission, then we should use any means possible to label them..PERIOD!! To hell with what is politikally korrect. Screw that, that's just a series of loopholes that provides these arrogant people a way to stay here in the U.S. They are invaders and should be treated as such.

Am I a racist, No, but I am a hard-nosed SOB when it comes to someone trying to invade my country. The true racists belong to a group called 'La Raza'.

Citizenship ordinance introduced to Assembly


by Jill Burke
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Anchorage Assemblyman Paul Bauer's idea to ensure Anchorage isn't perceived as a sanctuary for those who enter our country illegally was successfully introduced tonight.

Bauer sees his ordinance as simply requiring police to uphold the law. Critics fear its consequences will divide our community in unhealthy ways.

"We can't ignore the issue -- at least we can talk about it," Bauer said.

For Bauer, the issue is defending the nation against unlawful entrants.

"It's actually about illegal and legal aliens. People who break the law to come into this country and where are they at in our city and how are we going to enforce that to help the federal government?" Bauer said.

Bauer's plan is to have police routinely ask during routine criminal probes, "Are you a citizen?"

He did get the ordinance introduced tonight, but barely.

Assembly member Sheila Selkregg said she wonders if it might be a campaign pulpit. She said she worries the idea will trample civil liberties and divide the community.

"I think it's a bad idea. I really question why it was brought forward," Selkregg said. "It basically puts people of different ethnic backgrounds on notice that they can count on being questioned for just being citizens and functioning in the community and interacting with the police."

Eric Coldero with the Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska agrees it could be a recipe for unfair treatment.

"I think the concern is that; are they going to ask every person or just people who are of different skin color or who have an accent? That's our concern, we don't want to be targeted," Coldero said.

Angelina Burney with Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska said police time is better spent tackling more pressing safety issues.

"As it is short to combat gangs and crimes and other things going on locally. How are they going to be able to handle the additional training that would be needed?" Burney said.

Paul D. Kendall said he is ready to see where Bauer's idea goes. The way he sees it, it's about time someone is willing to openly discuss illegal immigration and all of its implications.

"I don't think Mr. Bauer wants to represent some kind of Gestapo stop and search identity," Kendall said. "For another corrupt government to send its people into our land and then take the money from our land and send it back to maintain their corrupt government -- that begs standards of conscience and dialogue that we have not had before."

That dialogue will move forward in November when the Assembly's public safety committee takes up the issue. A public hearing will follow later in the month to allow the community to weigh in.

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7061234