People gather outside the Millennium Biltmore Hotel to protest against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Los Angeles. Sessions gave a speech at the hotel. (Jae C. Hong | The Associated Press)

People gather outside the Millennium Biltmore Hotel to protest against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Los Angeles. Sessions gave a speech at the hotel. (Jae C. Hong | The Associated Press)

Pair of evening events will prelude weekend immigration rally

Translator will share her experiences, offer advice on organization

Andrea Dewees has worked as a translator at a pair of immigrant family detention centers in Texas. This week, she’ll appear at a series of meetings in hopes that she never does it again.

Dewees, a board member of the Alaska Institute for Justice, is hosting a pair of community meetings ahead of a Saturday rally at Capitol Park downtown.

“It’s an opportunity for people to come and learn about the asylum process, which all of these children and parents are entering under,” she explained. “It’s a little bit of information about that, what the process is, and talking about the dehumanization that is happening.”

The first meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library. The second is 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Northern Light United Church.

The rally will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday on 5th Street, at the park behind the Capitol. That park is home to the Empty Chair memorial, which commemorates John Tanaka, the 1942 Juneau High School valedictorian who was taken away by the federal government’s Japanese internment program before he could graduate.

Robin Brennan is director of the Institute for Justice, which was founded in 2005 and now has offices across the state. With just 12 staff, it serves about 900 immigrants to Alaska each year.

Brennan explained that while the institute helps process asylum claims for people fleeing persecution, it also helps crime victims who may be reluctant to come forward.

“The current tenor of our conversation, which is extraordinarily hateful toward immigrants, makes people very afraid to come forward when they are a victim of a crime,” she said.

Dewees, who now works at the University of Alaska Southeast, said one of her roles is to serve as a translator for people in those situations.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to get the help that they need,” she said.

At this week’s events, Dewees said, Juneauites will learn what they can do to provide that help. While she will share her experiences and explanations, she said the meetings are also a chance to organize.

Saturday’s rally is specifically about opposition to the policy of dividing families who are seeking asylum in the United States.

From Anchorage, Brennan said Alaskans should be paying attention to immigration policy and what it says about America in general.

“It’s incumbent on us that we make sure that we are upholding the values and ideals that our democracy rests on, in making sure people are safe and not being persecuted, and certainly not being torn away from their parents,” she said.


• Contact reporter James Brooks at jbrooks@juneauempire.com or 523-2258.


More in News

The Dimond Courthouse in Juneau, Alaska, is seen in this undated photo. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file)
Juneau man pleads guilty to murder of infant

James White pleaded guilty yesterday to the murder of 5-and-half-week-old Kathy White

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Megan Dean shakes hands with the new Arctic District commander Rear Admiral Bob Little on Friday. Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, commander of the Pacific Area, smiles. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
US Coast Guard receives new commander, new name for Alaska

The Arctic District’s new icebreaker will visit Juneau next month

City and Borough of Juneau City Hall is photographed on July 12, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)
Municipal election candidate filing period opens July 18

The filing period runs from July 18 at 8 a.m. to July 28 at 4:30 p.m.

The Mendenhall River roars more than 13 feet above normal levels in August 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Suicide Basin predicted to fill by Aug. 8

The change in the prediction of when the basin will fill was based on heavy rain last week

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, July 14, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of July 16

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2025 schedule.… Continue reading

A male sea otter pup, estimated at 2 weeks old, was rescued near Homer and admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center rehabilitation program on June 23, 2025, in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
Seward’s SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list

Alaska Seaplane pilot Vance Tilley stands in front of the Piatus PC-12 in Klawock on June 23 during the inaugural trip of the new service between Juneau, Ketchikan and Klawock. (Photos by Gemini Waltz Media/courtesy Alaska Seaplane)
New Juneau-Ketchikan nonstop flight service launches

The flight leaves Juneau at 3:45 p.m., and the trip lasts 1 hour 25 minutes

Most Read