Hello from the State Capitol, The Minnesota House recently considered legislation that would require local law enforcement to report illegal immigrants arrested for a violent crime to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Because every Democrat in the House opposed it, the proposal failed on a tied 67-67 vote. The proposal was modeled after the federal Laken Riley Act, which requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants admitting to, charged with, or convicted of theft-related crimes, assaulting a police officer, or a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury like drunk driving. In 2024, Georgia resident Laken Riley was murdered by a Venezuelan man who had entered the United States illegally in 2022. Prior to her murder, the illegal immigrant had previously been charged in New York and arrested for theft in Georgia. The Minnesota House proposal mandates reporting to ICE when illegal immigrants are arrested for violent crimes, including murder, assault, carjacking, and kidnapping. It also prevents local governments from obstructing immigration enforcement by banning sanctuary city policies that protect criminals from deportation. Common sense tells us that if you commit a violent crime, you need to be arrested. There is no reason to keep federal officials in the dark over a felonious illegal immigrant who shouldn’t be here in the first place, yet that is just exactly what House Democrats voted for. This is yet another example of Democrats prioritizing illegal immigrants over actual Minnesota citizens. We also had a proposal in our higher education bill that would have prevented illegal aliens from taking part in the NorthStar Promise free college tuition program. That also failed. BUDGET BILLS BEING APPROVED IN MINNESOTA HOUSE This week, House budget bills negotiated by Republican and Democrat committee leads have been debated and approved on the House floor. Proposals that would fund veterans initiatives, higher education, transportation priorities, commerce, and more have all been passed, with more scheduled for next week. Eventually House and Senate negotiators will craft compromise proposals that can be approved by both legislative bodies, which will then be sent to the governor for his signature. ATTORNEY GENERAL ELLISON DISCUSSES FEEDING OUR FUTURE SCANDAL BEFORE HOUSE FRAUD COMMITTEE Our new Minnesota House fraud committee has been doing some impressive work over the past three months. This week, committee members were able to grill Attorney General Keith Ellison about Feeding our Future and the leaked tapes from earlier this month where Ellison expressed sympathy for East African businesses under investigation by state agencies. This included individuals later indicted and convicted in the largest fraud case in Minnesota history with $250 million lost in this scandal. In the audio, Ellison is heard stating he would pressure state agencies on their behalf, despite the fact that, as Attorney General, he is tasked with representing those same agencies. During his testimony, serious contradictions emerged between Ellison’s past public statements and the record now available. In September 2022, Ellison’s office issued a statement claiming it "jumpstarted" the Feeding Our Future investigation and had been “deeply involved for two years.” In the fraud hearing, Ellison testified that he had no knowledge of the scandal at the time of a December 2021 meeting with individuals tied to the fraud. Additional audio from June 2021 further suggests Ellison had earlier awareness of issues with Feeding Our Future than he previously acknowledged. None of this makes much sense, and I expect this isn’t the last we’ve heard about this incident. |