NOTN- Capital City Fire Rescue responded to its first ice-related emergency of the season after a person broke through thin ice on Mendenhall Lake on Tuesday, authorities said in a Facebook post.
The individual fell through the ice but was able to climb out without assistance and was treated for hypothermia, according to a CCFR statement.
The incident comes as Juneau is experiencing cold weather this week.
Officials say that ice conditions remain highly variable and unpredictable across the lake, particularly near the glacier, creek mouths and areas of moving water.
“People ask, ‘When is the lake safe?’ We will say never, as we respond all winter long for people that went through the ice,” CCFR wrote in their post.
The National Weather Service advises that ice thickness can vary dramatically over short distances on Mendenhall Lake and warns that early-season ice is especially unreliable. Even with freezing temperatures, officials expect cycles of thawing and refreezing through the winter.
Members of the Alaska Air and Army National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia, and Alaska State Defense Force work together to load plywood onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, in Bethel, Alaska, Nov. 2, 2025, bound for the villages of Napaskiak, Tuntutuliak, and Napakiak. The materials will help residents rebuild homes and restore community spaces damaged by past storms. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Ericka Gillespie)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has approved a U.S. Defense Department request for Alaska National Guard service members to assist the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Anchorage with “administrative support,” the guard office announced Tuesday.
The Alaska National Guard said five service members will assist with “administrative and logistical” duties at the Anchorage ICE office for up to a year.
“The Alaska National Guard members are administratively supporting the Enforcement & Removal Operations section and Homeland Security Investigations section, ensuring seamless operations at the Anchorage ICE office. Their mission includes a wide range of duties, from vehicle fleet management and safety compliance to office support and processing purchase orders,” the Guard statement said.
The announcement included a list of clerical duties, including data entry and creating reports, answering phones, managing fleet vehicles and checking fire extinguishers. Officials said the partnership is authorized by Title 32 Section 502(f) of the U.S. Code, which enables National Guard members to perform additional duties under the direction of the President or Secretary of Defense.
Grant Robinson, Dunleavy’s deputy press secretary, confirmed the governor approved the request.
“The Alaska National Guard members joined the guard to serve our nation. This support they are providing the Anchorage ICE office is in service of the nation,” he said by email Tuesday.
Grant did not say whether the National Guard would provide further assistance with immigration enforcement actions.
“Any future requests for administrative and logistical support will be considered on a case by case basis,” he said.
The Trump administration has continued to accelerate immigration enforcement operations, and officials have promised to “limit legal and illegal immigration,” after the shooting of two National Guard service members in Washington, D.C. last week. The Trump administration has also continued to roll back humanitarian programs for immigrants, including ending the temporary protected status of 330,000 nationals from Haiti last week.
While ICE has been conducting mass raids, court house arrests and large-scale detentions and deportation operations across the United States, in Alaska ICE has focused enforcement efforts on specific individuals identified through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or having interactions with law enforcement, according to the ACLU of Alaska.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage is the co-chair of the Alaska Joint Armed Services Committee and has been outspoken about his concerns about the Alaska National Guard being deployed domestically for “civil disturbance operations.”
“I see it’s a long list of boring, banal administrative tasks that are in no way controversial or concerning in and of themselves,” he said of the National Guard announcement. “What’s concerning is that Alaska ICE is requesting additional support, and the assumption that I make is that it’s because Alaska ICE intends to be doing more detainments, and intends to be doing more field operations in which they’re going to need this administrative support behind them. So that’s my concern.”
Gray was reached by phone Tuesday leaving a meeting with U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in Washington, D.C. Gray said he expressed his concerns at the meeting about the leadership of U.S. Department of Defense, which the Trump administration has renamed the “Department of War,” and Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Gray said he’s also concerned about a wider chilling effect of ICE activity and increased immigration enforcement in Alaska.
“It’s going to increase fear, not only in the undocumented folks that might be in Anchorage and the rest of Alaska, but also fear in people who are here legally, and even U.S. citizens who might be mistaken for someone who might be undocumented,” he said.
An October investigation by ProPublica found that more than 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE in raids and at protests, and the government does not track how many citizens are held by immigration agents.
Dunleavy’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the concern around ICE overreaching its authority, and arresting and detaining U.S. citizens.
“It seems that Alaska’s notorious SNAP backlog caused by a lack of workforce doing many of the tasks in this memo would be much better use of our Guard,” Gray added. “Why not deploy Guard members to feed Alaskans instead of deploying them to earn brownie points with the Trump administration?”
Cindy Woods, senior staff attorney on immigration rights with the ACLU of Alaska, said they have tracked at least 70 ICE arrests this year, as reported in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections. That’s an almost 500% increase from last year.
“We have been seeing a growing ICE presence in the state and a growing trend of ICE enforcement,” she said. The ICE activity has been largely in Anchorage, she said.
“We are very concerned about what this signals in relation to our state government’s willingness to cooperate with federal law enforcement, specifically in relation to ICE enforcement operations,” she said of the National Guard announcement. “I think it can’t be overstated the negative impact that increased enforcement has had across the country and Alaska, unfortunately, is not immune to that.”
An estimated 7.7% of the population, or more than 57,000 people, in Alaska are foreign-born, Woods pointed out, and the Trump administration’s continued restrictions on paths to legal immigration and citizenship, as well as humanitarian and refugee resettlement programs are impacting Alaskans.
“It’s kind of an assault from both sides, and so we’re really concerned about that as well,” she said.
Woods said the ACLU is not aware of any U.S. citizens being detained by ICE in Alaska, but there is heightened scrutiny.
“One case that we have heard of recently is of a longtime Anchorage resident who has been happily married and was going to their interview for their green card based on that marriage, and being arrested with basically accusations of marriage fraud,” she said. “And so we’re seeing folks who are in affirmative applications, who are not in any sort of civil enforcement proceedings, who are also being subject to heightened scrutiny and enforcement actions.”
NOTN- After social media posts have circulated claiming 7 ICE agents checked into hotels in downtown Juneau, Mayor Beth Weldon joined KINY to discuss some of those rumors.
“So far, we haven’t been able to substantiate any of those rumors,” She said, “so, no presence or activity that we are aware of, however, maybe this is where the rumors are coming from, TSA is in town, and they will have a visual intermodal Presence Prevention and Response Team present.”
TSA will be conducting high visibility patrols on cruise ship docks, and they’ll be doing that all this week.
“So if you see lots of uniforms down there, that’s what’s happening.” Said Mayor Weldon “it’s no concern. It’s an annual activity. CBJ is not involved, and we’ve been doing this since 2021.”
While ICE agents may not be in the Capital, recently, the Alaska Department of Corrections has been holding dozens of immigration detainees in Anchorage under conditions that violate federal standards for humane treatment, according to Alaska Public Media, three immigration lawyers said the men were denied phone access to their attorneys and consulates, held in lockdown for long periods and, in one incident, subjected to pepper spray.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is playing a key role in the Trump administration’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration.
ICE teams are continuing to carry out enforcement operations. And officials have said targeting criminals is a priority, but a key issue to watch is how the term “criminal” is defined. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the administration sees all undocumented immigrants as criminals.
Stock photo by Jose A. Bernat Bacete, Courtesy of Alaska Beacon
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
After a Fox News interview raised the possibility of Alaska building a “Bear Alcatraz” Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, the office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy said on Tuesday that the state has no such plans.
The Dunleavy administration statement was prompted by an inaccurate story by Newsweek that summarized the interview, asserting that the state had suggested the idea.
“The story is false,” said Jeff Turner, Dunleavy’s director of communications by email. He said that he had demanded a correction from the Newsweek reporter.
The Newsweek story referred to a July 1 interview on Fox News by host Laura Ingraham of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for pPolicy and homeland security adviser. Miller is known as the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and a vocal proponent of ramping up ICE arrests, detention and mass deportations.
In the interview, Ingraham and Miller praised Florida for building a new ICE detention facility in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” for its isolation and being surrounded by wildlife in the Big Cypress Natural Preserve in Ochopee, Florida. It was constructed in just eight days, and can hold up to 3,000 detainees before deportation, and opened last week.
Miller said he had pitched all Republican governors to build similar ICE detention facilities. “We want every governor of a red state, and if you’re watching tonight, pick up the phone call, DHS, work with us to build facilities in your state,” Miller said.
Ingraham said Fox reached out to states, including Alaska, for comment. “Alaska told us that ‘we don’t have alligators, but we have lots of bears.’ However, they aren’t aware of any plans for an Alaska version,” she said.
“Of, I said, ‘Bear Alcatraz,’” Ingraham added, chuckling.
When asked to comment on Alaska’s response to Fox News, Turner repeated there were no state plans to build such a facility.
“I am not aware of any response from the state to Mr. Miller for a facility like the one in Florida,” Turner said. “The governor’s office was asked by Fox News if there were any such plans and the answer was no.”
Last week, President Donald Trump signed his signature domestic policy bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which allocates a historic increase of $165 billion to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which administers ICE, through 2029. ICE’s budget is currently $10 billion.
The Department of Homeland Security said $165 billion includes $45 billion for new ICE detention facilities, $46 billion for border wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border, $14 billion for deportation operations, and billions for hiring 6,000 new Customs and Border Patrol agents, and 10,000 new ICE agents.
The entrance to the Anchorage Correctional Complex is seen on Aug. 29, 2022. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
The Alaska Department of Corrections announced that 35 men that were arrested and detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from out of state and held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex were transferred out of state on Monday.
ICE transferred 42 men to Alaska from out of state on June 8, as part of an ongoing agreement between the Department of Corrections and the U.S. Department of Justice, amid a nationwide deportation crackdown. The move sparked daily protests, a fact-finding hearing by the Alaska House Judiciary Committee, and concerns from attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska around the punitive conditions of detention, violations of due process and criminal confinement.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said department Commissioner Jen Winkelman was not available for an interview on Tuesday to discuss the transfer, concerns around conditions of detention, and ongoing plans to house ICE detainees in Alaska.
“The ICE detainees who were transferred due to severe overcrowding in the Washington facility are no longer in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections,” said DOC spokesperson Betsy Holley in an email, in which she included the italics and underlining. She added that all questions on the details of the transfer should be directed to DHS/ICE.
Cindy Woods, a senior immigration law and policy fellow with the ACLU of Alaska, said the transfer was not unexpected, since DOC had said they agreed to hold detainees for 30 days. She also said she and several other attorneys were not notified of the transfers.
“Yesterday evening, I flagged the attorneys that I know represent folks who had been transferred, to let them know that they were being transferred again, and but none of them had been told by ICE prior to that,” she said.
Woods said all the detainees were going through civil immigration proceedings, and faced no criminal charges.
“These individuals were all in civil detention, so they were not being detained as part of an ongoing criminal proceeding. They were all in administrative immigration proceedings,” she said, and a number of the men have applied for or received asylum protections.
“And then there were also a handful of folks who were waiting for their immigration proceedings to commence,” she said. “And so (they) were waiting for the opportunity to speak with a judge about either a potential asylum claim or some other request for immigration relief.”
The ICE transfer of detainees to Alaska DOC custody raised serious concerns around standards of detention from legislators and advocates. Attorneys testified before the June 20 hearing of the Alaska House Judiciary Committee that despite no criminal charges, their clients reported that they were subject to lengthy lockdowns, overuse of handcuffs and overcrowding — sleeping three to a cell. In addition, they were denied or had limited access to calls with family and attorneys, regularly strip-searched after visits with attorneys, and subjected to use of force by DOC staff members, who pepper-sprayed a unit to stop a “verbal demonstration” on June 12, the attorneys said.
The ACLU of Alaska sent a letter on Saturday to Alaska state officials and ICE demanding detainees be removed from Anchorage Correctional Complex custody, and a stop to any additional transfers “unless and until constitutionally adequate conditions of confinement and attorney access can be guaranteed.”
The letter provided further detail on the pepper-spray incident: “This ‘verbal demonstration’ consisted of detainees requesting access to their belongings, including an individual who was trying to access his property to get the phone number for his consulate. Following the incident, many individuals experienced respiratory distress, including coughing, burning sensations in their mouth, nose, and eyes, and nosebleeds, and did not receive medical attention. They were also unable to change their clothes for an extended period of time.”
Holley said in the Department of Corrections’ emailed response to an interview request that the state did not make the call to transfer the detainees.
“The decision to transfer these detainees out of Alaska rested solely with the federal government. The decision was not influenced by the recent House Judiciary Committee hearing or the letter issued by the ACLU this past weekend,” Holley said.
“It is important to note the Alaska DOC routinely houses both civil detainees and federal prisoners. While we do not currently know whether ICE will request additional placements in the future, the Alaska DOC remains fully prepared to support DHS/ICE in coordinated efforts that prioritize public safety and the efficient use of government resources.”
The ACLU filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Corrections in May challenging what they say is “inadequate, dangerous and inhumane” health care provided for incarcerated Alaskans.
Woods said the DOC protocols and detention conditions are unnecessary, and violated the men’s right to due process. “The conditions that they were all held in were punitive, whether or not that was the intention of the government, and such punitive nature are clearly outside the scope of the law, and especially when it comes to the standards and the requirements for civil detainees, who are not being held under criminal charges,” she said.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment about why the detainees were transferred to and from Alaska. Woods said she was able to search in the ICE inmate locator and confirm the men were transferred back to the ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, with reportedly better conditions.
Woods said detainees reported the experience in DOC custody as humiliating.
“They were being held in really substandard conditions, being subjected to pepper spray and strip searches, and handcuffs, and all of those things. And so it was really hard for a lot of people to deal with that shift,” she said, referring to being transferred from Washington state to Alaska custody. “And especially because they were also largely cut off from those outside relationships that sustained them, particularly those who, you know, regularly spoke with their children and their parents and their loved ones who were not located in the United States — having that kind of completely shut off really impacted the individuals who experienced that.”
On Friday, seven U.S. congressional representatives from Washington and Oregon sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security questioning why detainees were transferred to Alaska, as well as the cost and criteria for who is transferred. The letter also raised concerns that “ICE is wasting taxpayer dollars, flying dozens of people between detention centers thousands of miles apart, in efforts that do nothing to help protect Americans.”
