Thread: Minnesota: Pawlenty targets illegal immigration

Pawlenty targets illegal immigration
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
January 7, 2008
Gov. Tim Pawlenty is renewing his call to crack down on illegal immigration in Minnesota. The governor's plan includes some initiatives that don't need legislative approval and some that do.

St. Paul, Minn. — The governor issued an order that takes several steps to deal with illegal immigration without legislative agreement.

It requires state law enforcement officers to work with federal agents to enforce immigration laws. It instructs the Department of Public Safety to review photos on the state's driver's license database for possible fraud. And it requires any new state employees and contractors who do business with the state to verify citizenship through an Internet-based system operated by the federal government.

Pawlenty said the steps are necessary to respond to illegal immigration.

"If you have a country that's based on the rule of law and the rule of law gets knowingly cast aside and we allow illegal behavior to continue then the rule of law is diminished and one of the cornerstones of our country gets eroded in a pretty pronounced way," he said.

The governor is also calling on the Legislature to pass a bill that strengthens the state's human trafficking laws, increases fines for businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants and increases penalties for identity theft.

Pawlenty also wants to prohibit cities, like Minneapolis and St. Paul, from forbidding their police officers from asking about a person's immigration status. Several cities say they passed the ordinances because they want immigrants to feel comfortable talking with the police.

"These are warmed-over proposals that could not pass the House of Representatives when his party controlled the house."
- Sen. Larry PogemillerIt's been nearly two years since the governor initially proposed many parts of this plan. He said he retooled the package with the hope that it will pass this time.

"These are the types of steps we believe that Republicans, Democrats and a broad cross section of Minnesotans can agree are reasonable steps towards better enforcement of illegal immigration and our country and our state need that," he said.

Pawlenty made those comments in front of his commissioners, a group of Republican lawmakers, several law enforcement officials and one known Republican businessman. After the news conference, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, said Pawlenty's plan has little chance of becoming law.

"These are warmed-over proposals that could not pass the House of Representatives when his party controlled the house," he said.

Other lawmakers said illegal immigration should be handled by federal officials. They say the state should focus on other issues like education, transportation and health care. Some questioned the timing of Pawlenty's announcement. It's an election year and Minnesota's precinct caucuses are less than a month away.


OpponentSusana De Leon, an immigration attorney from Minneapolis said Pawlenty's proposal is pure politics.

"Gov. Pawlenty is a rising star," she said. "He was a considered maybe to be a candidate for vice president. I don't know. But in any election time, immigrants, gay and lesbian rights and abortion are going to be key issues for the Republican Party to pull out their voters."

De Leon also said some of Pawlenty's proposals are already being followed. She said state and federal law enforcement officials are already working together to crack down on human trafficking, violent international gangs and sexual predators.

Lawmakers will consider whether to hold hearings on the governor's plan when they return for the 2008 legislative session on Feb. 12.


http://minnesota.publicradio.org/displa ... migration/

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Governor Pawlenty unveils plan for illegal immigration crackdown


Governor Tim Pawlenty Monday unveiled his newest plan to slow illegal immigration into Minnesota, which will include a citizenship test for new state workers.

"We can't have a system, a secure system of identity and drivers licenses and other things, that is rampant with fraud," the Governor said flanked by law enforcement officers and Republican lawmakers.

The plan features computerized drivers license photo cross checks to guard against multiple persons sharing the same legal names and identities.

"Either in terms of the current drivers license, former drivers license version, social security cards that turn out to be fraudulent and there's an industry as you probably know which exploits immigrants and others."

State Senator Patricia Torres Ray, a Democrat from Minneapolis, criticized the Governor for politicizing a complex issue.

"This is the same proposal from two years ago and once again it's an election year," Torres Ray told reporters at the Capitol, "This is an election cycle and I am very disappointed that our Governor has chosen to use this issue as a way to further his political agenda."

She said she and other lawmakers in touch with the immigrant communities in Minnesota have been invited to a meeting with the Governor Wednesday, and she's surprised Pawlenty shared his plan with the media prior to that discussion.

"We take immigration issue very seriously. We are working with mayors, superintendents, hospitals and other major players to address these very same problems."

For those who suggest the Governor is playing the immigration card to score points, the Governor said it's simply not true.

"I think anybody who would suggest that illegal immigration is not a real concern in the United States isn't a very candid observer of what's taking place."

The Governor signed an order directing all state agencies to work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as I.C.E., to enforce immigration laws. This act would clarify that State Troopers have the power and obligation to detain drivers of questionable immigration status.

Some cities, including Minneapolis and Saint Paul, do not arrest suspects solely for being in the United States without permission. If an undocumented immigrant is arrested for another crime they will be referred to federal authorities when their local criminal case is completely.

Pawlenty said he'll ask the legislature to penalize cities that enact so-called sanctuary laws. He's also seeking to have state officers take special training from Immigrations and Customs so that they could eventually be deputized to arrest and hold undocumented immigrants they encounter.

"He's asking state agencies to do the job of the federal government," Torres Ray said, "That is not the work of our law enforcement. He's asking local communities to take on the burden of immigration enforcement at the same time he's already cutting aid to those cities."

Saint Paul Police Chief John Harrington has testified in the past that cooperation from potential witnesses and crime victims in certain areas of the city would be harder to come by if those individuals thought local police were working on behalf of federal immigration authorities.

He also testified that police do work hand in hand with immigration authorities on human trafficking and other major criminal investigations.

Other executive actions, which can be enforced without any action by lawmakers, includes a requirement that all new state verify citizenship or legal residency. Their names would be checked against a computerized federal database known as E-Verify.

When asked if any undocumented immigrants have been discovered in the ranks of state employees, Pawlenty answered that it was more a matter of the state setting a good example.

Private companies looking to defend themselves against hiring illegal immigrants could voluntarily use the E-Verify system as a means of proving they tried to check on their applicants.

The Governor would also require any contractors working for the state to verify their United States citizenship or legal immigration status.


http://www.kare11.com/news/ts_article.a ... yid=491973

Seifert backs Pawlenty package aimed at cracking down on hiring of illegals

By Dana Yost


Hoping to take tougher steps against illegal immigrants, Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday signed several executive orders and announced a series of legislative iniatitives designed to punish employers who knowingly hire illegals and tie state law enforcement more closely to federal immigrant crackdowns.

The package got the backing of House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, who said House Republicans would block any attempt by the Legislature to overturn Pawlenty’s executive orders.

Seifert also said he knows it will be difficult to get the entire legislative set through a DFL-controlled Legislature, but said he believes there are some issues that lawmakers from either party will support.

Among the executive orders Pawlenty signed:

• Minnesota law enforcement officers will work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help enforce immigration laws. Seifert said that’s primarily state-level law enforcement, such as Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

• New state employees and contractors doing business with the state will be required to verify their citizenship through an Internet-based system operated by the federal government, known as E-Verify.

• The Department of Public Safety will conduct a review of Minnesota’s driver’s license database to catch duplicate photos and study them for possible fraud.

• The DPS will conduct summits for law enforcement, including local law enforcement officers, to provide training in targeting criminal activity related to illegal immigration.

“We’re trying to get law enforcement on the same page,â€

Austin News
Pawlenty invokes executive powers on immigration
1/8/2008
By Christina Killion Valdez

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration Monday. The changes, however, could cut into local law enforcement, local officials say.

One of the four actions signed by the governor directs state law enforcement officers to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce immigration laws. Pawlenty included these in outlining legislative initiatives for this year regarding immigration enforcement.

Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi said she didn't expect her department's relationship with ICE to change.

"We do work with ICE," Amazi said.

However, she said, funding will be an issue.

"Mower County can't afford a bus to the Mexico border," she said.

In the past, entering into a federal agreement has been avoided because of both the philosophical issue of local law enforcement getting involved in federal issues and the lack of resources, said Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson.

As of Monday afternoon, Peterson had not been notified of the executive action taken by the governor, but he said he worried about a lack of funding.

"Those agreements take officers off the street to do federal activities," he said. "There is no way to back-fill that. Local law enforcement still needs to be done."

The other executive orders signed by the Republican governor include additional training for local law enforcement officials, reviewing millions of driver's license photos for possible fraud and verifying citizenship for new state employees and contractors.

Pawlenty also proposed several measures that lawmakers would have to approve, including stiffer penalties for identity theft and a ban on so-called sanctuary ordinances that prevent police from asking about immigration status. The proposal mirrors a package Pawlenty presented two years ago and lawmakers dismissed.

Action

Gov. Pawlenty invoked executive action for four measures:

• Minnesota law enforcement officers will work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce immigration laws.

• New state employees and contractors doing business with the state will be required to verify citizenship through an Internet-based system operated by the federal government.

• The Department of Public Safety will conduct a review of the Minnesota's driver's license database to catch duplicate photos and examine them for possible fraud.

• The Department of Public Safety will coordinate law enforcement summits where state troopers, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents and local law enforcement officers will receive training on targeting criminal activity related to illegal immigration.

Proposals

The governor also is requesting the legislature to pass an immigration reform package that includes:

• Prohibition of city "sanctuary" ordinances that prohibit police from inquiring about immigration status.

• Strengthened human-trafficking laws.

• Enhanced penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

• Increased penalties for identity theft.

• Establishing the crime of "aggravated forgery" of the underlying documents used to obtain legitimate identity documents.


http://news.postbulletin.com

Sen. Torres Ray says Gov. Pawlenty's immigration proposals are poltically inspired
Tuesday, 08 January 2008
by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter

The illegal immigration debate flared at the Capitol on Monday (Jan. 7) with Gov. Tim Pawlenty signing executive orders dealing with immigration law enforcement and further presenting a handful of legislative initiatives aimed at curbing illegal immigration.

Pawlenty, who proposed an illegal immigration package two years ago — in another election year, one critic pointed out — said legal immigration is an enormous benefit to the country.

“We want to make the sure, however, the system is legal, and reasonable, and orderly,â€