Alaska Contributes to a National Problem in its Own State
May 1, 2010 at the Los Angeles Times Building in Los Angeles, CA right across from city hall. Demonstrators sign says it all!
Unbeknownst to many Americans, May 1 is known as International Workers' Day . It is a day of celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement and left-wing movements. All communist countries honor this day as a holiday. Communism throughout the world has murdered 150 million people since 1918. It is also the same day that there were massive marches in support of illegal aliens becoming United States citizens in this country.
As most know, Arizona recently passed a law requiring its various state police agencies to enforce federal immigration law as a matter of state law. This law is a reaction to the federal government's refusal to effectively enforce immigration law. Much of the law is taken word for word from current federal immigration code and simply directs its state agents to enforce these existing laws as a matter of state law.
Then why is there a massive reaction against this reasonable law?
Certain factions (e.g. ethnic lobbies & cheap labor businesses) are well aware the federal government is not enforcing the law and like it that way. The Arizona law represents a government actually interested in enforcing its own law. This is a direct threat to them for if the feds ever got serious, they could effect their ability to mint new constituents for their ethnic lobbies or cheap workers for their businesses (in the context of double digit unemployment by the way).
Many don't know it but Alaska had a brief flirtation with local enforcement of federal immigration law this legislative session albeit much more modestly than Arizona. House Bill 3 (HB3) was to require Alaska driver's licenses to expire on the date a foreign visitor's US visa expires. You see, most illegal aliens don't sneak over the border, they overstay legal visas. According to a 2006 Pew Hispanic Center study, nearly half of the 12 million-plus illegal aliens in America arrived legally with temporary, non-immigrant visas. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that a “substantial” percentage of America’s illegal population is made up of visa overstays — their estimates range from 27 to 57 percent.
When Alaska issues a driver's license it lasts for five years. So an alien with a six month tourist visa can come here, get a license and then willfully overstay their visa and operate almost with impunity for five years. License renewal does not require citizenship verification; therefore the driver’s license becomes indefinite for the illegal alien. Even the State cannot know who or how many licenses are maintained by illegal aliens who overstayed their visa. The bill (HB3) was an attempt to close this glaring loophole.
Unfortunately this bill died in the House in the close vote of 23-17. Unfortunately six Republicans; Reps. Alan Austerman of Kodiak, Nancy Dahlstrom of Anchorage, Anna Fairclough of Eagle River, Paul Seaton of Homer, Peggy Wilson of Wrangell and Tammie Wilson of North Pole crossed the aisle with the Democrat block in lockstep support for illegal immigration. One Democrat Mike Doogan of Anchorage kept his word in support of the Bill.
Paul Bauer and Ryan Kennedy
Alaskans for Legal Presence (ALP)
HB3 failed on the floor 23-17 with 6 Republicans: Dahlstrom, Fairclough; Austerman; Seaton; Peggy and Tammie Wilson voting to kill the Bill.
Alaskans for Legal Presence (ALP) made it public of its discontent with these Republicans; and includes that Dahlstrom was a key player working with convicted legislator Pete Kott to overthrow the more conservative House Chair in 2004.
