Voices of Alaska: Children’s safety is not an acceptable price for border security

The Department of Homeland Security removed more than 2,000 children from their families in a matter of weeks. As mothers and grandmothers who have dedicated years of our careers to the welfare of children, we are horrified.

Heartbreaking photographs and audio recordings offer a glimpse of the tragedy. But we know that the bigger tragedy is impossible to photograph: the trauma inflicted by breaking up families that will follow these children for the rest of their lives.

Trauma wreaks havoc on a child’s brain, which is malleable and highly responsive to their environment. When surrounded by love and support, children learn to open up, explore, connect with others, and experience joy. Trauma physiologically rewires young brains to be on constant alert for danger instead. The consequences can last a lifetime. An overwhelming body of evidence links childhood trauma to negative outcomes later in life: poor physical and mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, violent and criminal behavior, and domestic violence. In this way, trauma gets passed on to the next generation.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

We know this story all too well in Alaska. From the 1930s through the 1970s, the U.S. government took thousands of Alaska Native children from their families, loaded them onto boats, planes, and dogsleds, and sent them to state boarding schools, with the intention of erasing their cultural identity and their connections to home. These Alaskans, including Toni and Byron, now look south and recognize the fear in these children’s voices. Wounds that never fully healed are re-opening.

Alaska is now doing hard, necessary work. We are publicly recognizing how these backward policies damaged generations of families, and we are standing up for our children. From revitalizing native languages, to providing equal education for rural and urban students, to ensuring all kids have access to medical care, we are slowly turning the page. We are hopeful about the next chapter for Alaska’s children.

Knowing our history, we cannot ignore what has happened on our southern border. As the President signs an Executive Order, we continue to urge the administration to do everything in their power to rapidly reunite families and put a stop to the separation of children.

The vital work of securing our borders can, and must, be accomplished without systematically tearing apart families. It is pointless to defend our borders if we give up on the values they are supposed to protect. Our nation is not perfect, but we pride ourselves on a few things: justice, and the right to pursue a better future for one’s children.

If we become a country that embraces the mass-removal of children from families as an acceptable strategy for border security, surely we have lost more than we have gained. We, as a nation, are better than that. As leaders in Washington consider long term immigration solutions, we urge them to learn from our history, and not repeat it.

Attorney and child welfare advocate Donna Walker is married to Alaska Governor Bill Walker. A retired elementary school teacher of 20 years, Toni Mallott is married to Alaska Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott.

More in Opinion

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.