Without total DFL support, the North Star Act is going south

CATHY WURZER: We're a week into the Minnesota legislative session. Before it even started, more than 13 DFL lawmakers were calling to make Minnesota a sanctuary state for immigrants lacking legal status. The North Star Act would ban state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The DFL may have a trifecta, but they have just one more seat than Republicans in the state Senate, and it looks like this bill does not have the support to pass.

Multiple DFL lawmakers, including our next guest, have said publicly they won't vote for it, and legislative leaders are not prioritizing it this session. This comes as some Democrats at the national level are taking a harder stance on immigration leading up to the 2024 election. Joining us right now to talk about this debate is DFL Senator Grant Hauschild, who represents Northeastern Minnesota. Senator, welcome to the program.

GRANT HAUSCHILD: Thanks, Cathy, for having me.

CATHY WURZER: You said last week you won't be voting for the bill. I believe you told the Forum News Service that immigration is a federal issue, something your Republican colleagues say-- agree with. But some of your DFL colleagues say this bill would make Minnesota a welcoming state for new immigrants. What are your reservations with this bill?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: Well, that's exactly right. I feel that immigration is a federal issue. And we've seen the gamesmanship and the political gridlock that's happening in Congress around securing our border and implementing better immigration laws. And to not let them move forward with that process, to not put the burden on our federal officials to get this job done, I think would be a disservice. I don't want different laws at different states handling federal immigration law. And it's not something that I can support.

CATHY WURZER: You're not running for re-election this fall. Your House colleagues are. Let's talk about Democrats threading the political needle with this issue. What are the difficulties for Democrats on this?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: Well, I don't think it's that difficult, right? I mean, we should be focused on what it is the state's duties are. And at the end of the day, last session, we passed a historic amount of funding for our police and public safety professionals, $300 million to local governments to better provide safety in our communities.

That is directly in the jurisdiction of our state government and our state legislature. That's the kind of thing I want to focus on, rather than trying to delve into federal immigration laws and figuring out how we pressure our local law enforcement not to work with federal officials.

CATHY WURZER: Have you heard from any colleagues who are trying to maybe sway you on the sanctuary bill?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: I have not. In fact, I have heard from several colleagues and constituents that they agree with my position. And they're glad that I came out and said what I said.

CATHY WURZER: I'm wondering here-- the Star Tribune did a story last week on how schools across Minnesota are enrolling hundreds of new students who have arrived with a recent wave of Latin American migrants. There's a struggle to offer the necessary supports for these students. Hennepin County's family shelters are at five times their normal capacity. Many of those staying are migrants. Do you think Minnesota's prepared for growing numbers of newcomers?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: Well, I think we always have to remember that we are a state that is welcoming. We're a state that has a culture of having each other's back. And we have a history of immigrants settling in Minnesota and making it the state that we are today. In fact, the region that I represent, the Iron Range in Northeastern Minnesota, has a long history of immigrant labor and immigrant families moving to the region to make the state what we are.

And so, I think we can keep doing that. We did historic education funding this last session. We've had support in health care and in higher education opportunities for immigrants. I think there's a lot of ways that we, as Minnesotans, can welcome these new families to our state, ensure that we have the workforce of the future, and that we keep growing. So there's a lot of great opportunities in having sort of that welcoming attitude here in Minnesota.

CATHY WURZER: Welcoming attitude, but still this particular bill is running into some issues. Do you see this coming up again at all? Or how do you think the state might parse this, going down the road?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: No, it sounds like the leadership has stated that there's not the votes in the House and Senate and that it's unlikely to move forward. And I think that's correct.

CATHY WURZER: What do you want the federal government to do?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: I want them to get this immigration deal done. It's a shame that the very thing that the Congress majority asked for with regards to border security and immigration law reforms was introduced and presented by the Biden administration.

And instead of working in a bipartisan way to help secure our border and make our immigration laws work for our country, they walked away because of political pressure. That is an unfortunate circumstance. And it's not the way that Minnesota government works. And so I want to make sure in Minnesota, we keep working together, we keep focusing on the issues that matter, and that we get the job done.

CATHY WURZER: Say, before you go, so you said you're not going to vote for the sanctuary bill, but you have some other areas of interest. Can you explain what those are?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: Yeah, we're facing a rural emergency medical services crisis in Northeastern Minnesota and, really, in greater Minnesota across the board. So I'll be working diligently on some funding, as well as some reforms to our emergency medical services structure. Your zip code shouldn't determine whether or not you get an ambulance to help save you or a loved one's life.

The other thing I'm working on is child care affordability. I continue to hear in some of the most rural communities I represent that the lack of childcare and child care affordability is impacting our community's ability to keep young people there. So we need to work on that. Those are going to be two of my top priorities.

CATHY WURZER: Getting back to the rural ambulance issue, how dire, if that's the word to use, is it? How much of a crisis is rural Minnesota experiencing right now?

GRANT HAUSCHILD: I have several communities on the Iron Range that are saying their ambulance services are going bankrupt. We saw a statewide story in Nashwauk about them closing down their ambulance service if they don't get some sort of support. The challenge in rural communities is that our emergency medical services are not provided by private hospitals or nonprofits like they are in some of the wealthier suburbs of the Twin Cities.

Instead, it's on the local governments with very low tax base to provide those services, and it's just completely unsustainable when you consider the fact that the federal government has not stepped up and provided the federal reimbursements we need on Medicare and Medicaid. So it's a crisis that's specifically impacting greater Minnesota, and that's why I'm so focused on it, because I represent the most rural district in Minnesota.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Senator, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

GRANT HAUSCHILD: Thanks, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: We've been talking to DFL Senator Grant Hauschild of Hermantown. He represents district 3, which covers much of Northeastern Minnesota.