Immigration enforcement becomes hot spot in Minnesota Senate race: NPR

Immigration is shaping up to be a key issue in the race for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat, as Democratic candidates try to determine how they will respond to the influx of federal agents into their state.

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The fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis has sparked a national debate over immigration enforcement, particularly in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, where Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is retiring and candidates vying to replace her are trying to seize the moment. Minnesota Public Radio’s Dana Ferguson reports.

DANA FERGUSON, BYLINE: Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig says it angered her when fellow Republican Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, reacted like that right after the shooting.

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TOM EMMER: People need to understand that there is an ICE agent standing right in front of the car when it starts to accelerate.

FERGUSON: That was Emmer, the House Republican majority whip, on Fox News last week. He said Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who shot Macklin Good, acted in self-defense. And the Trump administration agrees, with Vice President JD Vance saying Good’s death was his doing. For Craig, ICE agents made the situation worse. At the U.S. Capitol in Washington, she confronted Emmer that afternoon, screaming as her colleagues intervened to separate them.

ANGIE CRAIG: Simply told the House that this political stunt by this administration resulted in the death of a woman in Minneapolis today.

FERGUSON: Later, Craig thought about the exchange.

CRAIG: We have a number of Republicans across this country who refuse to stand up to this administration, refuse to call for the rule of law. And, you know, I’m not going to let Tom Emmer or anyone else off the hook.

FERGUSON: Craig is a moderate Democrat from a vibrant district that surrounds suburban St. Paul and extends into farm country. She is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate. His Democratic opponent in the race, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, quickly seized on Craig’s voting record on immigration, and her campaign said Craig’s confrontation with Emmer was a political stunt.

PEGGY FLANAGAN: Well, I think that’s actually one of the clearest points of contrast between me and my main opponent, Angie Craig.

FERGUSON: Flanagan points to Craig’s vote a year ago in favor of the GOP-led Laken Riley Act. This policy allows for the detention of people without legal status who are accused of crimes ranging from petty theft to assaulting law enforcement.

FLANAGAN: I just think Minnesotans have a very clear choice. Do you want someone who votes with Donald Trump and the – you know, the agents who terrorize our communities, or do you want someone who, you know, believes that we can have secure borders, comprehensive immigration reform, a path to citizenship?

FERGUSON: Craig defends this vote by saying the law provides due process before eviction. And she said Flanagan would have her own problems if she faced Republicans in the fall.

Minnesota has traced hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud to state government programs, and the Trump administration has placed blame on Gov. Tim Walz for failing to do more to prevent the fraud. Craig says that as Walz’s second-in-command, Flanagan could take some heat for that.

CRAIG: Pushing Governor Walz in front of that bus alone, when she’s been his partner for seven years, is pretty disgusting, frankly.

FERGUSON: Flanagan’s campaign says Craig is the one refusing to take responsibility and putting his seat in jeopardy. For their part, Republicans running support the ICE officer who shot Macklin Good.

DAVID HANN: You can’t continue to encourage people to defy the law and not see bad things happen.

FERGUSON: That’s David Hann, a candidate who is the former chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party. He criticized Democrats for demonizing federal law enforcement. Republicans hope this moment when Minnesota’s blue leaders are under fire can help flip the seat that has been in Democratic hands for 16 years.

For NPR News, I’m Dana Ferguson in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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