Defending our Civil Rights Over the past several months, the Trump Administration has repeatedly shown a complete disregard for the civil and constitutional rights of Minnesotans. Despite claims that Operation Metro Surge is over, ICE is still here. I am so proud of my community as we remain vigilant and stand up to these bullies. While Minnesotans continue to fearlessly respond to ICE with love for our neighbors, we’re working on a number of bills to respond in statute. I authored a bill that would charge ICE agents with trespassing if they enter private property, schools, or domestic violence shelters for civil immigration enforcement purposes. Minnesota courts have already ruled that ICE needs a judicial warrant to hold someone solely for immigration purposes, and my bill would commit this principle to statute. This bill was heard in the Judiciary Committee last week. In spite of the fact that advancing privacy rights have traditionally been very bipartisan at the Capitol, the Republicans on the committee opposed its passage. I also recently presented my bill to limit the use of reverse warrants. This is a bill that I introduced last session that would protect against ICE abuses as well as unconstitutional searches of private, law-abiding citizens. So-called “reverse search warrants” enable law enforcement to obtain evidence from Big Tech companies like Google about large swaths of people, who may or may not include the actual perpetrator of a crime. They do this by looking at data on people in a certain geographic area at a certain time (known as geofencing) or people who searched certain keywords on the internet. This technology can easily be abused to target specific communities or political ideologies, so we need to set guardrails on its use. My bill would restrict the uses of these warrants to only very specific circumstances, mainly sudden emergencies. You can watch my comments on the bill here. I also re-introduced the “Star Act” (formerly known as the North Star Act), which would create a clear division between state and local government and the federal government when it comes to immigration enforcement. In this moment of xenophobic attacks against our immigrant communities (and U.S. citizens standing by them,) it’s more important than ever that the federal government is not using state resources to carry out their terror campaign. It’s bad enough that our federal taxes are being spent on detaining our neighbors — we can’t let our state and local dollars be coopted as well. ICE’s presence in our state makes us less safe. By ensuring that our local law enforcement agencies are not being pulled away from their normal duties, protecting Minnesotans, we can make sure our tax dollars that go to public safety are actually spend on making Minnesota safe. Civility Caucus: Live! I recently joined MPR’s Catharine Richert alongside GOP Sen. Zach Duckworth to talk about the complicated topic of collegiality in the Minnesota Legislature during these turbulent times. I know it can sometimes feel counterproductive to spend time building relationships with people whose views are so drastically different from mine on so many core values. I understand the frustration, especially in a time when those differences are causing real pain in our community. If you’ve been feeling this way, I highly recommend watching the segment to learn more about why Civility Caucus — and finding commonality despite our differences — is more important now than it ever has been. My talk with Catharine is more nuanced and dives deeper into the “why,” but here’s the short answer: because we have to. Our vulnerable neighbors are depending on those of us who have the privilege to engage in these conversations without risking our life or liberties. It's advocacy in its most crucial form. You can watch the whole segment here.  Thanks for coming to the Capitol! Over the first weeks of session, I’ve enjoyed meeting with so many members of my community who have come to the Capitol to advocate around healthcare, homelessness, art therapy, and more. Thank you for bringing your perspectives to inform my work!  Eye of the StormLast week’s breath of fresh air was furrier than normal — and it involved 16 puppies from the Animal Humane Society! Puppy Day at the Capitol is one of the most joyous days of the legislative session, and it comes with an important mission. I’m grateful to groups like the Animal Humane Society for advocating for our four-legged friends (and for bringing them by to say hello!) All of the puppies we met are either available for adoption now or will be soon. Visit the Animal Humane Society — Golden Valley for more info.  |