Hello from St. Paul,
Recently, legislation was brought before the Minnesota House that requires local law enforcement to report undocumented immigrants arrested for a violent crime to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The proposal failed on a tied 67-67 vote because every Democrat in the Minnesota House opposed it.
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.
It is extremely disappointing that House Democrats voted to protect violent criminals who shouldn’t be in this country in the first place. Laken Riley would still be alive if her killer had been sent back to Venezuela after his first arrest. That is just a fact. How many more people need to be hurt or killed before Democrats support legal Minnesota citizens over violent illegal immigrants?
ATTORNEY GENERAL ELLISON DISCUSSES FEEDING OUR FUTURE SCANDAL BEFORE HOUSE FRAUD COMMITTEE
This week, the Minnesota House Fraud committee questioned 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 at $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.” However, in the 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.
Expect the fraud committee to continue its investigation.
KEEP IN TOUCH
As always, if you ever have any legislative questions, please contact me. I can be reached at rep.steven.jacob@house.mn.gov or by phone at 651.296.2273.
Have a good weekend,
Steve