ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democrats hope to rein in the power of federal immigration officers in Minnesota as the state’s legislative session gets underway Tuesday, while Republicans will focus on combatting fraud in taxpayer-funded programs that President Donald Trump cited to justify the recent immigration enforcement surge.
While White House border czar Tom Homan said over the weekend that more than 1,000 officers have left the Twin Cities area, and
hundreds more will depart in the days ahead, the aftermath will continue to reverberate at the state Capitol during the session, which runs through late May.
It's unclear whether any significant changes can pass the closely divided Legislature. The House is tied with a Republican speaker, while Democrats hold only a one-vote majority in the Senate. So nothing can pass without bipartisan support. And it's an election year, with all 201 legislative seats on the ballot. House Speaker Lisa Demuth is among the GOP candidates running for governor and has expressed hope she will win Trump's endorsement. All of that could make compromise difficult.
“There are definitely going to be priorities on both sides of the aisle. ... But when it comes right down to it, we need to have bipartisan votes to move bills through the committees and get the work done for Minnesotans,” Demuth told reporters Monday.
Capitol security is tighter this session following the assassination of Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband last summer. All visitors now undergo weapons screening.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz last week proposed a $10 million package of relief for small businesses that lost customers and workers during the surge, and more aid proposals could be coming.
Just ahead of the session, House and Senate Democrats unveiled 11 bills to counter what they consider some of the worst excesses by federal immigration officers during the surge.
They're meant to keep federal officers away from schools, childcare centers, hospitals and colleges. They would also ban federal agents from wearing face masks, while requiring them to display visible identification. They would also require that federal authorities allow state investigators to participate in investigations of shootings by federal agents, such as the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The state remains frozen out of those cases. The FBI officially notified the state Monday that it won't share information or evidence from its investigation into Pretti's death.
The top House Democrat, Zack Stephenson, said they don't expect support from Republican leaders, but they're hoping some GOP lawmakers will break with their party.
“What we’ve seen these last six weeks has been so exceptional, so damaging, that I don’t know how you can be human and not respond to it,” Stephenson said. "But even if it’s not that, we also know it’s an election year and voters are watching, and voters will hold people accountable if they don’t stand up to this administration."
Stephenson also acknowledged that any restrictions the state tries to impose on federal law enforcement are likely to be challenged in court.
“But some things are worth fighting for,” Stephenson added. “And if we’re not going to fight for this, what are we doing here?”
Republican have expressed little enthusiasm for taking on federal authorities and hope to shift the focus to fighting fraud.
“Minnesotans want our state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” said Rep. Harry Niska, the No. 2 House Republican.
One of the top GOP anti-fraud priorities is legislation to create an independent Office of Inspector General to investigate and prevent the misuse of public funds. The Senate passed a similar proposal last year on a bipartisan 60-7 vote. House Democratic leaders blocked a vote at the end of the session, but the proposal remains alive this year.
Republicans also want to require more accountability for agencies and officials who let fraud happen on their watch.
