By PEDRO GONZALEZ
The Mexican flag is something of a rare sight in Anchorage. But last week, protestors draped in its colors marched along snow-covered streets to protest President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. They carried signs reading “Nadie es illegal,” which translates into: “No one is illegal.”
But resistance requires more than just cardboard sloganeering, and these demonstrators are often supported by a network of firms that offer legal assistance and aid, like the Alaska Institute for Justice.
Offering low-cost or even free legal representation is, in a certain respect, noble. The problem is that these organizations are using taxpayer dollars to essentially frustrate federal law enforcement efforts. It’s another issue that the Trump administration has taken up.
In January, the Department of Justice instructed service providers to “stop work immediately” on federally funded programs that provide legal guidance and support to people facing deportation. The move, which was eventually rolled back, followed an executive order that directed the secretary of Homeland Security to review funding provided to organizations “supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens.”
Alaska Institute for Justice seems to fit that description, as it offers legal representation for “immigrants who are in removal (deportation) proceedings,” the group’s website states.
According to a recent audit, Alaska Institute for Justice received 33 percent and 16 percent of its support and revenue from federal grants for 2023 and 2024, respectively.
In 2023, Alaska Institute for Justice received nearly $690,000 in governmental support from the Department of Justice. Last year, it was awarded $942,700 by Justice and Health and Human Services.
“A significant reduction in this support would have a substantial impact on AIJ,” the audit states.
Maybe so, but no one should be forced to subsidize organizations whose missions might run contrary to their views and, indeed, their votes.
Immigration was and is a top issue for Americans. A CBS News poll last week found that 59 percent of respondents said they agreed with the Trump administration’s “program to find and deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.”
It is hard to believe that those same people would also approve of having their tax dollars used to undermine that effort.
Pedro Gonzalez writes for Must Read Alaska.
