00:00Lady Yield, chair recognizes Ms. Craig from Minnesota.
00:03Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for allowing me to wave on to this committee today.
00:07I think if I were a permanent member, I'd have a permanent headache.
00:10Well, you won't have to worry about it, but go ahead.
00:13Governor Walz, it is so good to see you today.
00:16Let me start by saying that we should all be against chaos.
00:19We all are for a safe and secure border and an orderly immigration system.
00:25What we're seeing now, though, is chaos out of the current administration.
00:30With their blatant disregard for due process and their indiscriminate immigration executive orders.
00:37In fact, the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security had to take down its posted sanctuary jurisdictions list
00:45because it created mass confusion in Minnesota for local officials and was opposed by local law enforcement.
00:52And so, Governor Walz, let me just start just so we know the record is correct.
00:57I didn't think Minnesota was a sanctuary state.
01:00Is Minnesota a sanctuary state, Governor?
01:03We are not.
01:03The legislature has passed no such law, and I have signed no such law, and we follow all federal law.
01:10Thank you, sir.
01:11That list included 20 counties when it came out across Minnesota without any rhyme or reason,
01:16including LeSueur County, which I represent.
01:19Governor Walz, I've inquired into why they are listed from DHS, but still absolutely no answers.
01:27Governor Walz, I thought it might be helpful to point out that, according to the FBI's own 2023 data,
01:34Minnesota has fewer violent incidents per 100,000 than states such as Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, Alabama, Georgia,
01:46I'm going to repeat that again, Georgia, and Ohio.
01:49Why do you think that our state has been able to maintain a lower crime rate than other states?
01:55Well, thank you, Congresswoman.
01:56And we are at a 30-year low on serious crimes, and as you said, we consistently rank below.
02:01And I think that's because we invest, as we have, historic investments in law enforcement,
02:05but law enforcement works with the community.
02:07There's a process in place.
02:09We know who they are.
02:10They work hand in hand.
02:12We make sure that those laws are followed.
02:14And we also have policies where we show compassion to our neighbors.
02:17And it's not chaos, as you said.
02:20It's done right.
02:21So I am grateful.
02:22Grateful for the law enforcement who does that work.
02:24But I'm also grateful to the legislature and my administration,
02:27who have put in historic amounts of help to make sure they're able to deliver those services.
02:32And they are the ones that are best trained to do it.
02:34And the case that you brought up of listing these, in Minnesota, counties can go above the federal floor.
02:42If they want to issue detainers, they certainly can.
02:45Many of those counties that were listed on there would fit the definition of everyone on this side of the aisle is asking for,
02:51and they're doing that.
02:52Nothing prohibits them in Minnesota from doing that.
02:55And yet they ended up on the list.
02:57It caused great chaos.
02:59And law enforcement themselves, and as you heard earlier, Sheriff's Association issuing, you know,
03:04that it can't be done this way.
03:06Thank you, Governor.
03:07Earlier today, I spoke with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce,
03:11and I think all of us here share the goals of lowering costs for our constituents and growing the economy.
03:17According to a Minnesota Chamber Foundation report from this February,
03:21Minnesota's immigrant labor force participation rate was over 74 percent, well above the national average.
03:27And they fill important jobs in our agriculture, health care, and manufacturing sectors.
03:32Governor Walz, how can we ensure Minnesota remains a state to attract the talent we need and a strong economy?
03:39We invest in our people.
03:41We make sure we remain the number one health care state.
03:44We make sure that people are safe in their communities.
03:46We need to talk about focusing on the work that the state patrol keeps our roads safe as top three.
03:51Every state for the lowest number of traffic accidents.
03:53That's what they should be focusing on.
03:55Investing, and as the Chamber is focusing on, Minnesota's number four in Fortune 500 per capita,
04:01and we are ranked sixth best state for business.
04:04Continue to have a well-expected, a healthy, safe, and make sure we're investing in those opportunities for people.
04:11That's all we're asking, and we're asking that the federal government do their job.
04:15You continue to ask states to do ICE jobs.
04:18They are free to do their job in Minnesota, but they're asking us to do the job when we're doing everything we can to help,
04:25but we have all of the other responsibilities of educating, of public safety, of roads, of transportation, of water infrastructure.
04:32And that's why Minnesota remains a top state, because we invest in our people.
04:36We invest in their growth.
04:37We invest in their families.
04:39Thank you, Governor.
04:40I appreciate this, and Mr. Lynch, I'll yield the last 20 seconds to you if you've got that.
04:47I'm happy to take that.
04:48Thank you very much, Representative.
04:51For this 12 seconds, I just want to read.
04:55This is from the Minnesota Reforma from February 12, 2025.
05:00The sanctuary bill that was offered in the Minnesota legislature is already dead, as House Speaker says, it doesn't have the votes.
05:10So this was an attempt to actually make Minnesota a sanctuary state, and it, like the Speaker said, didn't have the votes and died very early in the process.
05:23And we got to the business of balancing our budget and investing in all of the other things we needed to do.
