ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, defended the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts Wednesday while acknowledging concerns about deportations following the State of the Union address.
Sullivan praised the president’s border security measures, citing a reduction in illegal crossings and decreased fentanyl flow into Alaska.
“Americans don’t have any question about what the president just did, which was to secure the border,” Sullivan said in an interview after the speech.
Sullivan pledged to the Alaska legislature last week that he would look into the case of a Soldotna family detained and quickly deported last week, with one older child remaining in ICE detention.
“There’s always going to be challenging individual questions,” Sullivan said. “My team is still looking into that case that you mentioned in Soldotna.”
He explained that once a judge ordered deportation after a missed hearing, “law enforcement doesn’t really have a choice.”
Sullivan acknowledged the emotional toll.
“Sometimes these cases can create situations, as you are just mentioning there, that are challenging, that even can be heart wrenching. So, we recognize that,” he said.
He praised broader Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to stop people from coming into the United States through the southern border with Mexico.
“There is no doubt that America went through enormous adversity by having a wide-open border that flooded our country with fentanyl and illegal immigrants,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan cited nearly $100 billion allocated in recent legislation for detention facilities, immigration judges and deportation capabilities.
The senator also noted reduced fentanyl seizures as evidence of the administration’s border security efforts.
Sullivan faces a midterm challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, who issued a statement criticizing the current state of affairs in Washington.
“Our future depends on fixing the rigged system in DC that’s shutting down Alaska while politicians feather their own nest,” Peltola said. “It’s time to make DC work for us again. Alaskans want a Senator who will fight to bring down grocery costs, save our fisheries, lower energy prices, and build new housing Alaskans can afford.”
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