Just under 100 Juneau residents gathered in a silent protest Monday, thanks to a conversation over beer at Louie’s Douglas Inn.
Standing in front of the Alaska Capitol just after sunrise, organizer Jill Weitz said the impromptu event against President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration came about following a Saturday conversation between herself and Dan Kirkwood at the Douglas bar.
The pair said they wanted to do something to show their support for refugees, and through social media, they managed to get 94 people to stand along Fourth Street before 8 a.m.
“I think it’s important that we support people in trouble,” said Neil Nickerson as he held a sign in front of Dimond Courthouse.
Nickerson and others didn’t chant, but they occasionally offered waves and quiet cheers to passing cars that honked in support.
Kirkwood, wearing a foam Statue of Liberty hat, collected signatures to be presented to Alaska’s Congressional delegation.
Near Nickerson, Hannah Wilson and Megan Behnke said even though it was early, it was important to show their support.
“If we stop getting up early, we give up,” Wilson said. “This is the first of many days.”
Inside the Capitol, every member of Juneau’s Legislative delegation signed Kirkwood’s petition in opposition to Trump’s order.
Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, said his grandfather ─ the father of Alaska’s first state governor ─ was an immigrant.
Asked of his opinion of Trump’s order, Egan replied simply: “It stinks.”
Issued Friday, Trump’s order pauses America’s entire refugee program for four months and indefinitely bans all refugees from Syria. It bans all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations, including Iraq and Iran, for 90 days.
Saudi Arabia, home to most of the Sept. 11 hijackers, is not covered by the ban, and there is no exemption for Iraqi translators who served the U.S. military during the War on Terror.
In a statement Monday, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said, “As many will agree, I believe the roll-out of this order was flawed.”
Overall, he said, he supports the goals of the order.
“Ultimately, I support the goals of increased security, additional screening and added layers of safety. I believe we must do everything in our power to ensure our immigration system is complete, thorough and capable of examining threats – particularly from some of the most dangerous regions of the globe,” he said in the statement.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, offered similar words of qualified support.
“The temporary restrictions, which I support, will be in place until our vetting and screening system is thoroughly reexamined to ensure terrorists aren’t entering our country,” he said in a prepared statement.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, did not say that she supported the order, only that she shares Trump’s desire for increased security, and that she will be working with state officials to determine the impacts of the order.
Gov. Bill Walker, in a statement by email, said that “one of Alaska’s great strengths is our diversity and history of welcoming immigrants. I am paying close attention to national events while working to ensure a stable fiscal future for Alaska. I have faith in the legal review process that is taking place at the national level.”
Locally, Mayor Ken Koelsch said the city is monitoring the situation. The Juneau Human Rights Commission has scheduled a 5:30 p.m. meeting tonight in city hall to address the issue, said chairwoman Haifa Sadighi.
Liz Perry, executive director of the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she’s concerned about damage the order will have on tourism ─ both directly and in side effects to the image of America as a welcoming place.
“This is certainly a blow to the entire industry,” she said, but she said the exact extent of that blow will remain unclear for some time.
Within the capitol, Senate President Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, said he supports Trump’s order.
The Republican House Minority did not take a position Monday, nor did the coalition House Majority.
Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, said he thinks the order is “short-sighted, unfair and discriminatory,” and he’s particularly worried by reports that the Department of Homeland Security is ignoring court injunctions against portions of the order.
Before the start of the Legislative session, Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, introduced House Bill 13, which would prohibit state officials from providing support to any federal registry that attempts to catalog people by race or religion.
Josephson said Monday that he will continue to push that bill in light of Trump’s order. That bill has been referred to the House State Affairs committee chaired by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka.
