House sets aside cities’ ‘sanctuary laws’

03/21/2006

Police could ask about immigration status

BY PATRICK SWEENEY
Pioneer Press

The Minnesota House voted Monday to set aside St. Paul and Minneapolis ordinances that bar city employees from routinely asking people if they have a legal right to be in this country.

The mayors and police chiefs of both cities have argued that the ordinances prohibiting inquiries about immigration status are necessary to encourage illegal immigrants who may be crime victims or witnesses to crimes to cooperate with police investigators.

But Gov. Tim Pawlenty made abrogating the municipal ordinances — he calls them “sanctuary” laws — a key part of his effort to regulate illegal immigration in Minnesota.

“This is a security issue for our country, it is a security issue for our state and it is a security issue for our own home towns,” said Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, during floor debate on the bill. He sponsored the legislation.

Last week, the House passed Pawlenty’s proposal to require in statute the Department of Public Safety’s current practice of putting visa expiration dates on immigrants’ driver’s licenses.

The vote to set aside the St. Paul and Minneapolis ordinances was 94-37. A number of Democrats joined most members of the House Republican majority in passing the measure.

But, despite the House action, there is no certainty the Senate will concur with the House and negate the two city ordinances. A Senate companion to Knoblach’s bill has not yet received a hearing.

Knoblach’s legislation does not mandate that police officers inquire about immigration status when they question a victim, witness or even a suspect, but the bill would bar cities from any attempt to curtail such inquiries by officers.

The St. Paul ordinance states, in part:

“… city employees and representatives shall not use city resources or personnel solely for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violations of law is or may be being undocumented, being out of status, or illegally residing in the United States.”

In a March 1 committee hearing, Mark Cangemi, special agent in charge of the local office of the United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, said the two ordinances have had a “chilling effect” on support his agency receives from St. Paul and Minneapolis police.

Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, tried unsuccessfully Monday to amend Knoblach’s bill to allow cities to continue barring officers from questioning crime victims and witnesses about their immigration status. He said the ordinances already allow officers to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

“Once the message gets out that this ordinance is gone, they’re going to perceive police officers as surrogate ICE agents and they’re not going to call the police if they’re victims of crimes,” Paymar said of immigrants living in Minnesota illegally.