“The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!” is a 1966 comedy film.
This story is not a comedy. It’s an unusual story about asylum seekers seeking entry at our northwest border – not Canada, but Alaska.
Two Russians are seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing mandatory military service. They arrived on a remote island in Alaska from Russia.
A lot of people do not realize just how close Alaska is to Russia.
Karina Borger, the Communications Director for Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, said that the Senator’s office had talked to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency and the Coast Guard about the two asylum seekers. She said they had fled their country from one of the coastal towns on Russia’s east coast so they wouldn’t be forced to serve in the Russian military.
President Putin’s order to mobilize for more Russian military presence in Ukraine has led to thousands of people fleeing the country, fearing that they will be forced into the military. In his speech, President Putin said that about 300,000 military reservists would be called to join Russia’s efforts in Ukraine.
The US Homeland Security Department said that authorities took the two Russians for inspection, screening, and vetting in Anchorage, where they will be processed according to the US Immigration and Nationality Act laws.
The only information the agency gave about the Russians was that they arrived in a small boat on Tuesday.
The two Alaskan senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, said that the sea journey ended at Gambell town’s beach, which is part of Alaska, an isolated native town of around 700 people.
Gambell town is located on St. Lawrence Island, in the Bering Sea, about 200 miles from the city of Nome. Gambell is about 36 miles from the Chukchi Peninsula in Russia’s far east. Although the island is in Alaska, it is closer to Russia than the Alaskan mainland. The isolated island has two airstrips in its two villages, Gambell and Savoonga, and the residents rely heavily on a simple way of life.
Senator Dan Sullivan urged the Biden administration to have a plan in the anticipation that other asylum seekers from Russia might start arriving.
In his statement, Senator Sullivan said that two things were clear. One was that many Russian citizens were not in support of President Putin’s war against Ukraine. The second was that due to Alaska’s proximity to Russia, the US government has an important role in ensuring that the country is secure.
Senator Lisa Murkowski said that the situation had uncovered a need for the government to increase security in the Arctic region.
Mike Dunleavy, Alaska’s Governor, said that he did not expect any more people to try to get into the US using that route, saying that traveling in that region could be dangerous, especially now that the area was expecting a storm with very strong winds.
Experience at the southern border shows that weather and danger do not stop desperate people who have nothing to lose.
In August this year, authorities stopped illegal Russian migrants 42 times from entering the US through the Canadian border. That number increased significantly from 15 people in July and nine in August last year.
It is more common for Russian citizens to enter the US using the Mexican border, as there are no visa requirements there. They fly from Russia to Cancun, Mexico, enter Mexico as tourists, and then book a flight to the US, hoping to seek asylum when they reach an inspection booth at customs.
