Pawlenty creating immigration enforcement team

01/03/2006

Conrad deFiebre
Star Tribune
Last update: January 03, 2006 – 11:41 AM

Declaring that illegal immigration is undermining the entire legal system, Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed a sweeping array of state responses on Tuesday, including a Minnesota enforcement team, more screening by local authorities and increased penalties for false identification, human trafficking and hiring of illegals.

“We have benefited immensely from immigration,” the governor said at his State Capitol office before flying off to present the proposals in several immigrant-heavy outstate cities. “But it needs to be legal and reasonable and orderly.”

Pawlenty’s seven-point plan would require approval by the Legislature, where it is expected to be a key point of contention when the Legislature convenes March 1 and throughout a major election year when Pawlenty and all 201 legislative seats will be before the voters.

Pawlenty suggested Tuesday that polling by his campaign organization had confirmed what he said is obvious to anyone in Minnesota who isn’t “living under a rock” — that illegal immigration is a serious issue for much of the electorate. He added, however, that neither his office nor the campaign had run polls on his specific proposals.

The plan would greatly step up state involvement in what has been mostly an arena of federal jurisdiction. A key element would to request formal authorization from the U.S. attorney general for state officials to enforce federal immigration laws, a move already made in Alabama and Florida.

According to a widely disputed study issued by the Pawlenty administration last month, illegal immigrants number 80,000 to 85,000 in Minnesota and cost taxpayers up to $188 million a year. The study did not attempt to measure the economic or tax contributions of undocumented aliens, however.

Displaying a handful of false IDs and pictures of drugs and guns seized from illegals, the governor said that continuing to “flagrantly ignore” the situation would erode public support for legal immigration and do a disservice to those who come here under the rules.

“Our history is based on immigration,” he said. “Our future counts on it. The federal government has the bulk of the responsibility for enforcing the immigration laws. But there are some things statescan do and should do.”

Pawlenty proposed to:

•Create a 10-person Minnesota Illegal Immigration Enforcement Team that would be federally trained and authorized to question, detain and arrest suspected illegal immigrants.

•Override city ordinances in Minneapolis and St. Paul that prohibit police officers from taking action against illegal immigrants unless they are arrested for a separate crime. Pawlenty said the ordinances violate federal law.

•Put in statute a 2002 state administrative rule that prominently marks drivers’ licenses of legal foreign visitors with their visa expiration dates. That proposal was a central theme of the Republican governor’s 2002 election campaign, but it was blocked by the DFL-controlled Senate. The Dept. of Public Safety under Gov. Jesse Ventura implemented the license designation by rule and it continues in force.

•Toughen penalties for possession, creation and sale of false IDs. Currently, it is not a crime in Minnesota to possess a false ID unless an intent to commit a crime can be proven. Simple possession would become a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine under the governor’s plan. Creating and selling false documents would be a felony.

•Increase felony penalties for human trafficking enacted in 2005 to a maximum of 20 years when minors are exploited.

•Require officers to note the citizenship and immigration status of all arrestees at booking. Pawlenty said it’s hard now to tell how much crime is committed by illegal immigrants because “unless you do something really serious, nobody asks.”

•Add a state fine of up to $5,000 to a current federal penalty of $11,000 for employers who knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants. In addition, state contracts would include a clause prohibiting the use of illegal immigrants to perform contracted services.