The two most popular ways of entering the United States undocumented is by crossing the U.S. border through Mexico or taking a boat to Florida. Millions of Mexicans have had success with the former method, while Cubans, Dominicans, Guatemalans and Hondurans favor the latter route. Both groups encounter resistance from thousands of National Guardsmen and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who are well versed in all methods of illegally entering the country. 

Few people know this, but there is a third backdoor into the United States – the Bering Strait, the body of water that separates Russian Chukotka from American Alaska. The shortest distance between the two continents is 55 miles, a distance that a motor boat could theoretically cross in half an hour.  

"We can only guess at the number of immigrants who enter the United States by crossing the Bering Strait in fishing schooners, inflatable rafts, and motor boats," said Charles Kosick from the Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). "The ICE has not once commented on this over the past 10 years." 

Kosick and his adherents call Alaska "the state without borders," since virtually no helicopters, ships, or soldiers patrol its borders. 

Last year, backpacker Joseph Havanese from Washington covered the distance from Chukotka to the American town of Teller on his own. The trip took one day and the backpacker did not meet any officers the whole trip. "I bought everything I needed at a plain old tourist store for $650," Havanese admitted. "Any hardy person could enter America from Russia." 

Electronic compasses, night vision goggles, binoculars, ultra-warm coats, ultra-light inflatable rafts, and sprays to frighten away wild animals can all be purchased freely in both Russia and the United States. Consequently, one can thoroughly prepare for the journey of the Bering Strait. Legendary American athlete Lynne Cox even swam across the strait, which means that nothing is impossible for a potential illegal immigrant. 

Significantly, police in Alaska are indifferent to travelers arriving from the west, unlike their colleagues in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, who stop almost every Latino near the border. 

Several weeks ago, the Korean press was filled with rumors that fishing schooners moonlight as means of conveying illegal immigrants to the shores of America. It is said that for the right price anyone who wants to can drop down into a rubber boat relatively near the coast of Alaska. 

"At the end of July into early August, when the temperature in Alaska reaches 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the trip is like a lovely cruise," said one illegal immigrant. "First, you make your way to the highway, then you stop a car, and within several hours you're in a hotel." 

Many readers are probably wondering why an immigrant would go to Alaska when living conditions in this state differ in the most basic sense from living conditions in New York or Los Angeles. What is the point of living without papers in a snowy field crammed between Canada and Chukotka? 

The answer is simple: one can depart Alaska for any destination in the United States without having a visa. Since this state is part of American territory, any flight to California, Texas, New York or Hawaii is domestic. So the list of documents required is completely different. American laws state that to fly domestically, passengers need a ticket and a photo ID, meaning a state ID, a green card, an American passport, or a foreign passport. 

Illegal immigrants can use the latter document to depart for any point. However, airport employees will have an issue if there is an absence of a visa in a passport, but it all depends on the officer. It is possible that he could only glance at your passport, or it is possible that he could call over ICE agents, who are stationed in every airport.  

The Internet is full of stories about crossings of the Bering Strait made by Russians, Chinese and Koreans. One of the immigrants brags that one can reach Alaska in an inflatable canoe in two to three hours. The main thing is that all the passengers have to be good oarsmen. "The trip's success depends on the physical preparedness of the travelers and on technical equipment, like compasses, GPS, and scanners that show the location of ships," added the nameless illegal immigrant. 

A user with the screen name 'Hans' claims that he reached New York through Alaska and Canada without any documents at all. He crossed the borders with Canada on foot under cover of night travelling on intercity buses, trains, and taxis. 

There's a good chance that Hans's story is completely true. Guard posts with only one officer inside are placed only every several dozen miles along the border between the United States and Canada. And this makes sense: there are not many people who would want to illegally enter a successfully developed country from another industrialized country. 

"A smile, a European appearance and some knowledge of English are three main resources that can be used against the immigration police," wrote Hans. "During the six weeks that my extreme trip lasted, not one person suspected me of illegally crossing state borders." 

One user on an Internet forum called illegal immigrants who come to America through Alaska "reckless adventurers." In my opinion, this is a perfect definition. Judge for yourselves: Alaska became part of the United States in 1867, and the government has still not recorded one mass arrest of illegal immigrants from Korea, China, or Russia, even though unconfirmed data show that these immigrants have infiltrated the country by the thousands. 

"Some people do not know what is happening at the border, and others prefer to keep quiet," said Alaska native Pete Bogarsky, a resident of the coastal town of Alakanuk. "Many foreigners want to enter America now, and where there is a demand, there are proposals." 

But there is little chance that the Department of Homeland Security and the ICE will at some point decide to take control of the borders of the largest state. There is a lack of evidence proving illegal entry into Alaskan territory, and effective legislation and innovations at the federal level require notorious precedents.