Assembly Reaffirms Commitment to Support and Defend the US Constitution

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During the Regular Assembly Meeting this week, the Anchorage Assembly approved (9-3) ​AR 2026-35, As Amended​, a resolution to reaffirm their commitment to defend the U.S. Constitution and call upon the Alaska Congressional Delegation to pass legislation reforming federal immigration enforcement operations.

During the debate, Assembly Members Yarrow Silvers, Daniel Volland, and Erin Baldwin Day spoke to their intent in sponsoring the legislation. "At its core, this resolution is not about immigration policy, but it's about government conduct," said Assembly Member Silvers. "This resolution is also about reminding people here in Anchorage of their rights. The right to peacefully protest, to record law enforcement activity, the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure and to be secure in their homes and not allow entry without a properly signed warrant, and the right to bear arms without the mere act of legal carry being construed as a threat worthy of lethal force."

The Assembly approved (10-2) an amendment moved by Chair Christopher Constant to add reference to the Tenth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, express solidarity with the people of Minnesota and their local and state governments, and acknowledge the professional, highly trained, and well-educated local police department who are sworn to serve and protect all people in the Municipality of Anchorage.​

"I was an Alaska State Trooper for eight years," said Assembly Member Zac Johnson during the debate. "I'm proud to have worn the badge and I'm proud to have been a law enforcement officer. I encountered many difficult and dangerous situations. . . and I look at the way we carried ourselves in comparison and I am just deeply disappointed and frankly feel that the conduct of the ICE officers brings shame to what I believe to be a generally honorable profession."

"If you don't think this is happening here, in Anchorage, little old Anchorage, Alaska, thousands of miles away from the Lower 48 and what we perceive to be all the issues of the Lower 48, you haven't been paying attention," said Assembly Member Felix Rivera, speaking to the relevance of the legislation to the Assembly agenda. An Assembly Information Memorandum (AIM) was laid-on-the-table to supplement the resolution, referencing articles published by the Peninsula Clarion​ and the Anchorage Daily News. "This is 100% a local issue," continued Member Rivera. "So I think it is totally within our purview to let our Federal Delegation, who represents us and our 290,000 constituents in the Municipality of Anchorage, let them know where we - the legislative body of the Municipality - stand on this issue."

In addition to affirming Constitutional rights, the resolution calls upon the Alaska Congressional Delegation to assert legislative power for the following measures:

• launch independent investigations into the use of deadly force by federal agents;
• establish transparency in the identity of immigration enforcement agents;
• increase training and regulation of immigration enforcement agents;
• meaningfully reform enforcement practices to align with constitutional principles and international human rights law;
• restrict federal funds for immigration enforcement operations until such measures are fully implemented.
  

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Contact:

Erin Baldwin Day, Assembly MemberDistrict 4, [email protected]

Yarrow Silvers, Assembly MemberDistrict 5, [email protected]

Daniel Volland, Assembly Member
District 1, [email protected] ​