Friends and neighbors,

A lot has obviously been happening in Minnesota the last few weeks. Street protests, confrontations, blocked roads, and violence surrounding federal immigration enforcement have become the norm.

It shouldn’t be. Violent criminals do not belong on our streets. Law enforcement officers must be able to do their jobs without being surrounded, blocked, or attacked. People have the right to protest. They do not have the right to interfere with arrests, shut down streets, damage property, or stop law enforcement officers from enforcing the law.

I have been getting questions about our role in this. Immigration enforcement is federal law. State legislators like me have no say over ICE or federal agents. However, it is affecting us. To be specific, inflammatory rhetoric from leaders here and chaos fomented by activist networks intent on obstructing law enforcement are putting everyone’s safety at risk. This has to end, and the state, counties, and cities need to work with federal law enforcement to enforce these laws.

I am glad to hear that President Trump and Governor Walz have been talking, and that the president sent Tom Homan to Minnesota to lead immigration enforcement. I hope these changes lead to an outcome that allows us to continue removing dangerous, violent criminals from the streets but without the chaos we are seeing now. We need to lower the temperature without backing away from enforcing the law.

Finally, I wanted to share an interesting video with you from Liz Collin at Alpha News featuring an interview with an attorney and self-defense expert. The video lays out legal facts that many in the media have misrepresented. It is worth watching before jumping to conclusions about what happened. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W53YRo_7es

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you for staying informed.

God Bless,