Minnesota politicians debate rolling back benefits for undocumented immigrants in the state
Immigration is dominating national headlines these days, but in Minnesota, there is a different debate raging: what rights, if any, should undocumented residents have?
In the 1990s, federal legislation was passed that allowed undocumented residents to pay federal income taxes. It was the start of a policy that officially viewed the undocumented as being here illegally but at the same time accepting their tax filings at the IRS.
As for Minnesota, the state has been at the forefront of passing laws to make life for the estimated 81,000 undocumented residents here easier. Those laws include driver's licenses for the undocumented, allowing the undocumented to access a new free state college plan and allowing the undocumented to receive MinnesotaCare health care benefits.
But this year, Republicans are pushing hard to roll back those benefits.
One of the leaders of the effort is Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls.
"I think Minnesota families expect that we are going to put their budgets first and not use their hard-earned tax dollars to subsidize illegal immigration," he said.
Specifically, Rasmusson wants to cut $220 million in undocumented MinnesotaCare benefits, $86,000 for free college and $158 million in tax credits for non-citizens.
But at a hearing last month, among those testifying against Rasmusson's proposal was the Minnesota Farmers Union.
"We supported coverage for the undocumented because they play a critical role in our food and agriculture system even disproportionately working not just on farms, but also in meat packing and food processing," Stu Lowey of the Farmers Union said. "Farmers rely on people who are new to our country."
Right now, Republicans don't have the numbers to pass their measures, but their proposals are fueling a debate in Minnesota over undocumented immigrants — a debate that at the national level helped drive President Trump to victory.
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