Collaboration Between Alaska National Guard and ICE Generates Questions
by sdmn
State Sen. Wielechowski warns that assigning Alaska Guard members assist ICE risks legality, trust, and the Guard’s disaster-response mission.
According to an article by Alaska Daily News, five Alaska National Guard members are set to work inside Anchorage’s ICE office, a deployment that has drawn sharp warnings from Sen. Bill Wielechowski. In an interview with SDMN he argues that the assignment shifts the Guard into territory it has never occupied in Alaska’s modern history. “It is clear that this assignment is not just drills or training but instead providing regular administrative support for a civilian federal agency,” he said.
Wielechowski said that, in addition to breaking the Posse Comitatus Act (a law passed by congress limiting use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic law by the federal government or other government entities), the mission risks eroding the public trust that Guard members rely on during emergencies. “Rescue missions would be hampered if people fear that the Guard members coming to rescue them are going to question their immigration status,” he said. In his view, that risk is amplified by ICE’s record: “Given ICE’s record of racial profiling, and the long list of citizens and legal immigrants detained by ICE, this threatens to greatly reduce trust in the Guard in minority communities.”
He also warned that the deployment could reshape how the Guard is used in the future. If basic administrative work becomes a routine federal request, he said, “there is no longer any meaningful protection to ensure the Guard is available to perform their state duties.” For him, that jeopardizes Alaska’s emergency response capacity. “If Guard members are tied up doing paperwork for DC bureaucrats, they will not be able to respond to emergencies at home.”
Wielechowski argued that the assignment also places Guard members in legal jeopardy. “Alaska’s Human Rights code prohibits state employees from discriminating based on race and ethnicity,” he said, adding that “assisting in racial discrimination in their duties puts them at risk of fine or termination.” He cited cases in which citizens and legal immigrants were detained, saying “it is clear that ICE is targeting people based on their race or first language.”
Asked whether any justification from ICE could make the deployment acceptable, he was blunt: “There would not be any satisfactory answer as immigration is not a state issue.” He described the decision as “a clear case of the federal government overreach by dragooning state resources for federal law enforcement.” The senator has requested a legal opinion. “I would be most alarmed if they determine this assignment to be illegal,” he said, adding he would push for hearings to learn “how this illegal use of the Guard was authorized.”
