|
Dear Neighbors –
The last few weeks have been difficult for our community in Minneapolis and around Minnesota, which has been targeted by the hateful rhetoric from Donald Trump and lawless action by his federal agents. To be clear, slandering our Somali and Latino neighbors and violating the constitutional rights of Minnesotans as a pretense for ICE’s cruel and violent enforcement actions is not about public safety. It is intended to cause fear, chaos, and division.
But we are not letting them divide us. In the last two weeks, I’ve seen our neighbors organize in South Minneapolis and across the metro in powerful actions of unity to protect the safety and rights of every Minnesotan. I’m so proud to be a member of this community that is showing the strength and resilience of people-powered democracy.
I want to provide an update about what I know about the so-called “Operation Metro Surge” that the Trump Administration launched bringing an influx of out-of-state federal agents into our neighborhoods without any communication or information to Minnesota’s state or local leaders. Over the last two weeks, ICE has detained community members without warrants, regardless of their immigration status. They violently dragged and kneeled on a pregnant woman, detained a father while driving, leaving his children behind and trapped two construction workers on a roof in subzero temperatures, without a judicial warrant.
ICE has intimidated, harassed, and arrested peaceful protesters in violation of their First Amendment Rights. The federal agents’ repeated pattern of constitutional violations has led ACLU Minnesota to file a lawsuit on Wednesday.
Let’s be clear, Instead of focusing on actions that will empower Minnesotans and help them thrive, the Trump Administration continues to sow fear, chaos, and cruelty. We will not let him scapegoat our hardworking immigrant and refugee communities. We will not let him stomp on the constitutional rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution and our laws. I joined my House DFL colleagues in spreading this message far and wide in the video below. If you feel so moved, please share with your friends and family as well to show your support for our neighbors.
Our communities are countering Trump’s lies and chaos with truth and tangible actions. We are working together, neighbors, community organizations, local and state leaders and our residents -- organizing block-by-block, in the common purpose of keeping everyone in our community safe and protecting the rights and freedoms of every Minnesotan.
In that vein, I’d like to share a toolkit put together by my Senate colleagues. In it you will find numerous tips around knowing your rights, legal assistance, emergency contacts, advocacy and community support, and many extra resources. Please share with your networks.
And to those South Minneapolis neighbors who are organizing, building community networks, keeping watch, providing mutual aid and the small businesses supporting our communities most at risk -- thank you. I’m proud to be your neighbor.
This week, I joined Governor Walz for his signing of two executive orders on gun violence prevention. The first creates a statewide safety council to examine and help reduce the effects of gun violence. The second will track the cost of gun violence and add funding to educate Minnesotans on safe storage and extreme risk protection orders, which DFLers passed during the 2023 Trifecta.
We were joined by Annunciation parents, Attorney General Keith Ellison, our State Senator Zaynab Mohamed, DFL House and Senate leaders, and Minnesota gun violence prevention advocates to take an important first step in preventing gun violence and choosing the safety of our kids over the guns that endanger them.
In my remarks, I shared my gratitude to our Annunciation community who through their grief have found determination and hope, continuing to speak out and demand action to get weapons of war off our streets. I am inspired by the students around the state, including kids in our district from Justice Page and Washburn, who have come out with a simple message to lawmakers and the adults in their lives: Choose us over guns.
This is not a hard choice. This week, we took executive action to choose the safety of our kids over the guns that endanger them. Next session, we must take legislative action to ban these weapons of war. I’m committed to leading the way to ensure lawmakers listen to our kids and community and take real action to get these weapons of war off our streets.
Throughout the legislative interim, the House’s Fraud Prevention and Government Oversight Committee, which I serve on, has continued to meet and hold hearings , often bringing with it headlines of fraud targeting Minnesotans and the public services they rely on.
Fraud in any form, targeting consumers, veterans, small businesses, or government programs, is unacceptable. Across the country we’ve seen increasingly sophisticated business models of fraud on the rise. Increasingly, for-profits and private providers have made government a profit-center and our public programs are the mark. And the push towards privatization and outsourcing has made government particularly vulnerable to the fraud that has swept across our economy.
As a DFLer, I believe in a government that works for people, and public dollars should serve public needs like childcare, healthcare, and housing. When fraudsters target our public programs, it hurts the communities who these programs serve the most. That’s why I asked to serve on this committee and take action to prevent, detect, investigate, and punish the greedy fraudsters and expose the for-profit business model of fraud that is cheating our state programs.
As we work to combat the fraud that is spreading across the country and our economy, the Governor has taken action to audit payments to high-risk programs at the Department of Human Services and created a specialized fraud-fighting law enforcement unit at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Last week, he tapped judge and former BCA head Tim O’Malley to serve as Director of Program Integrity and lead the charge in our fight to protect Minnesotans and state government against fraud.
Additionally, in the past couple years, the legislature created new guardrails and strengthened enforcement to prevent fraud in our public programs, and has given state agencies broader authority to stop payments when there are credible allegations of fraud. DFLers also know that all fraud is bad, not just when it targets the government, and that’s why we are leading the fight against other types of fraud, like wage theft, financial scams, and insurance fraud which has cost Minnesotans and Minnesota taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
As a member of the Fraud Prevention and Oversight Committee, my focus has been on getting our committee to investigate the root cause of this problem; ending the profit-motive in services delivered to people in need, closing the corporate fraud loopholes that drain our budgets, and using government to deliver services in a direct, publicly-accountable, and transparent way.
You’ll continue to hear more about this issue in the news and from my newsletters in the new year as I push for real solutions to protect Minnesotans and our public programs and fight to protect taxpayer dollars and the services that Minnesotans rely on to build a life for themselves and their families.
Thank you for your time, energy, and all you do to make our community a great place to live, work, and play. Always feel free to reach out to me with your input and ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. My email is [email protected] or you are always welcome to call me at the Capitol at 651-296-4200 and follow my Facebook page for updates.
It’s an honor and a privilege to be your State Representative. I'm very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together and look forward to the work we have ahead of us. Together, we can create a stronger, brighter future for all Minnesotans!
Best,
Emma Greenman
State Representative
|
