The immigration crisis has become one of the central issues in the presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris attempting to distance herself from the Biden-Harris administration’s poor record on the border.
But at tonight’s vice presidential debate, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, could be forced to defend his own radical record on immigration as well.
As governor, Walz pushed for a slate of far-left immigration policies, advocating for Minnesota to become a sanctuary state, authorizing illegal immigrants to receive driver’s licenses and enroll in taxpayer-funded healthcare programs, and encouraging large-scale resettlement programs.
Walz advocated for Minnesota to join the ranks of the other sanctuary states, which refuse to work with federal immigration authorities, during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
“My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws,” Walz said during the campaign. “The role of law enforcement is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws, and I strongly believe that they should not do so.”
Once in office, the Democrat signed far-left immigration proposals into law. Walz signed one bill in March 2023 that allowed approximately 81,000 illegal immigrants living in Minnesota to receive driver’s licenses, a measure that border security advocates with the Federation for American Immigration Reform say “promotes the normalization of illegal aliens and undermines the rule of law.”
Walz also signed legislation as part of a budget agreement that allowed illegal immigrants to enroll in a taxpayer-funded healthcare program intended for low-income Minnesotans. That made Minnesota the only state in the nation besides California that allowed illegal immigrants to access publicly-funded healthcare programs.
Walz also encouraged mass migrant resettlement in the state. The Democrat boasted in 2022 that Minnesota has “more refugees per capita than any other state,” calling it “our economic and cultural future” and celebrating that in one town “you see 50 languages spoken in the school.”
UNEARTHED VIDEO: Tim Walz bragged about mass immigration overwhelming the small town of Worthington, Minnesota:
“This beautiful diversity we see out in Worthington when I’m there, you see 50 languages spoken in the school.” pic.twitter.com/lmpfCTzQW8
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 30, 2024
Despite the state already taking in a disproportionate amount of migrants, Walz encouraged even more refugee resettlement as governor. “Minnesota has a strong moral tradition of welcoming those who seek refuge,” he said in one 2019 letter to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “I offer my consent to continue refugee resettlement in the State of Minnesota.”
Walz’s letter came after the state had struggled with a mass influx of migrants, which led to Somali gang violence and sex trafficking operations plaguing Minneapolis.
Tim Walz fought for more migrant resettlement in Minnesota while one of the largest migrant populations created child sex trafficking rings, joined criminal gangs, and engaged in the same sectarian conflict that sparked a civil war in their home country of Somalia.
Thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/h9fTHDHHLH
— Spencer Lindquist 🇺🇸 (@SpencerLndqst) August 7, 2024
The increased focus on Walz’s immigration record comes as the Biden-Harris administration presides over a record-breaking surge in illegal immigration. An estimated 10 million illegal immigrants have come across the border since President Joe Biden took office.
The Harris campaign has since attempted to portray the Democratic nominee as a “border state prosecutor” who is tough on immigration, even creating a campaign advertisement that featured former President Donald Trump’s border wall in the background.