Minnesota Democrats Approve Free College For Illegal Immigrants as They Hike Taxes on Residents
Higher taxes on gas, retail deliveries, cars come despite state's $17.5 billion surplus
The Minnesota legislature is raising taxes on state residents while simultaneously expanding benefits to illegal immigrants such as free college tuition and health care, aligning it with some of the most liberal places in the country.
Members of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, which in Minnesota controls the governor's office and both chambers of Minnesota's legislature, in May passed an array of tax hikes that will be used in part to fund programs for illegal immigrants. Minnesota Democratic governor Tim Walz signed measures that raise taxes on gas, retail deliveries, cars, and other items, even as the state entered March with a $17.5 billion budget surplus. At the same time, Minnesota Democrats enacted laws that will allow illegal immigrants to receive free state college tuition, enroll in the state's low-income insurance program, and qualify for driver's licenses.
"We want to make sure that when we're expanding opportunities ... we're doing it for all Minnesotans, regardless of background, regardless of their documentation status," liberal state lawmaker Omar Fateh said.
The changes align Minnesota—where Republicans held a majority in the state senate until this year—with the nation's most liberal states and cities. Washington, D.C., allows low-income illegal immigrants to enroll in public health care, and California will soon follow in 2024. Nineteen states, including California, Massachusetts, and Vermont, issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
Walz did not return a request for comment. The Democrat's tax hikes come as part of a $1.4 billion transportation package, an initiative that Walz said was worth the price tag.
"The people of Minnesota understand that you get what you pay for, and when it comes to the roads, we're going to have to figure out a dedicated source," Walz said. "Gas tax increases? I'm open to it."
Minnesota's gas tax had not been increased since 2008 prior to this year.
In addition to the tax increases, Democrats passed measures that allow illegal immigrants to take advantage of the state's "North Star Promise," which covers tuition at Minnesota public colleges and universities for students whose families earn less than $80,000 annually. Illegal immigrants can also enroll in MinnesotaCare, the state's public insurance program. An estimated 40,000 illegal immigrants living in Minnesota meet the program's requirements.
Minnesota Republicans hammered Walz for the "bonkers" tax hikes, saying Democrats worked to "grab for more" amid a record-high budget surplus. Minnesota, like many states, received lucrative federal COVID relief funds to pad its coffers going into 2023. House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R.) said the decision to pass these measures tells Minnesotans: "We had your money. We had $17.5 billion extra of your money. Not enough. We're going to double down on that and take a little bit more." Republican state lawmaker Nolan West echoed Demuth's argument, saying, "Instead of using that money, this [transportation] bill raises taxes by $3.7 billion dollars. It's insane."
Many Minnesota taxpayers agreed. "It's not really the government's to begin with. They should take what they need and let us keep the rest," one Minnesotan, Pam, told CBS News in May. "It is our money, is it not?" college student Rachel Solberg added.
WATCH: RFK Jr Gives Video Tour of ‘Unsustainable’ Southern Border
Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday toured the southern border and called the situation a "humanitarian crisis" and "unsustainable," highlighting a weak issue for President Joe Biden as he continues to lose support to Kennedy.
'The stories that we heard from these people are absolutely heartbreaking," Kennedy said. "This is a humanitarian crisis because of the understanding across the globe that we now have an open border here. ... This is not a good thing for our country, it's not a good thing for these people, and it is unsustainable."
Kennedy said he saw 150 migrants cross into Yuma, Ariz., including people from West Africa, Afghanistan, China, and Nepal. He detailed the process of how migrants cross and are released.
"From here they're put on theses buses and they're brought to the Border Patrol station where they're processed," he said. "After four or five days they're released on their own recognizance into our country and most of them are never seen or heard from again."
Kennedy's video received more than seven million views and draws attention to a sore subject for the Biden administration. Democrats have been vocal about their opposition to the president's handling of the border crisis and end of Title 42. An April poll in seven key swing states found that a majority of voters, 58 percent, disapprove of Biden's handling of the border. Fifty-two percent think he's ignoring the issue.
Kennedy continues to pick up support among Democrats. He consistently polls around 20 percent among the party, and Biden surrogates are struggling to answer for his sizable support. Celebrities and tech moguls, including former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, have rallied behind Kennedy.
HAS ANYONE HEARD BIDEN SAY A WORD ABOUT AMERICA'S HOMELESS?
“The watchdogs at Judicial Watch discovered documents that reveal how the Obama administration's close coordination with the Mexican government entices Mexicans to hop over the fence and on to the American dole.” Washington Times
DHS Inspector General: Biden Has Border Agents ‘Providing Care, Welfare Services’ to Illegal Aliens
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) Joseph Cuffari says President Joe Biden has agents at the United States-Mexico border primarily focused on “providing care and welfare services” to border crossers and illegal aliens whom they plan to release into the nation’s interior.
During a hearing before a House Oversight subcommittee this week, Cuffari was asked about the role that Biden’s DHS has agents playing at the southern border amid record-setting levels of illegal immigration.
“It’s concerning that agents are not performing their primary law enforcement roles,” Rep. Clary Higgins (R-LA) said. “America is largely under the impression that we’re moving border agents down [to the border] to enhance law enforcement. Is that the role that these agents are primarily performing, Mr. Cuffari?”
Cuffari responded, suggesting that Biden’s DHS has agents largely working to carry out the administration’s catch and release network that includes a parole pipeline as well as the CBP One mobile app. The network has helped free millions into the U.S. interior.
“The role that they were hired to do, and the performance of their duties is to do law enforcement — at least for the Border Patrol and the criminal investigators deployed there,” Cuffari said, later elaborating:
They’re doing some law enforcement but they’re also providing care and welfare services to the detained and those individuals who they’re processing. [Emphasis added]
Cuffari’s report, released last month, interviewed agents deployed to the border who said they are being taken off law enforcement duties to fulfill the administration’s catch and release priorities.
“Nearly half of the CBP personnel who completed our survey indicated that from their perspective they were required to take on responsibilities outside their normal duties at their work location,” the report states:
Twenty percent said they felt unable to perform their primary law enforcement duties of securing the border. “One of our duties is the detention and processing of non-citizen migrants, which is what almost all of our manpower is being delegated to do,” one Border Patrol agent states. “This does prevent us from doing the other part of the duties/responsibilities we were hired for, which is deterring or apprehending individuals that have made an illegal entry into the United States.” [Emphasis added]
In addition, more than half of ICE survey respondents indicated that they had been required to take on responsibilities outside of their normal or traditional duties. One deportation officer explained how ICE went from tracking down and arresting criminals to handing out paperwork. Similarly, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent said that HSI has gone from investigating to providing security at processing facilities. [Emphasis added]
From February 2021 to mid-April 2023, Biden has welcomed about five million border crossers and illegal aliens to the U.S. — millions of whom were released directly into American communities by DHS.
Analysis published in April projects that more than two million border crossers and illegal aliens are expected to be encountered along the border this year. This projection does not include illegal aliens who successfully cross the border, undetected by agents.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) Joseph Cuffari says President Joe Biden has agents at the United States-Mexico border primarily focused on “providing care and welfare services” to border crossers and illegal aliens whom they plan to release into the nation’s interior.
During a hearing before a House Oversight subcommittee this week, Cuffari was asked about the role that Biden’s DHS has agents playing at the southern border amid record-setting levels of illegal immigration.
“It’s concerning that agents are not performing their primary law enforcement roles,” Rep. Clary Higgins (R-LA) said. “America is largely under the impression that we’re moving border agents down [to the border] to enhance law enforcement. Is that the role that these agents are primarily performing, Mr. Cuffari?”
Cuffari responded, suggesting that Biden’s DHS has agents largely working to carry out the administration’s catch and release network that includes a parole pipeline as well as the CBP One mobile app. The network has helped free millions into the U.S. interior.
“The role that they were hired to do, and the performance of their duties is to do law enforcement — at least for the Border Patrol and the criminal investigators deployed there,” Cuffari said, later elaborating:
They’re doing some law enforcement but they’re also providing care and welfare services to the detained and those individuals who they’re processing. [Emphasis added]
Cuffari’s report, released last month, interviewed agents deployed to the border who said they are being taken off law enforcement duties to fulfill the administration’s catch and release priorities.
“Nearly half of the CBP personnel who completed our survey indicated that from their perspective they were required to take on responsibilities outside their normal duties at their work location,” the report states:
Twenty percent said they felt unable to perform their primary law enforcement duties of securing the border. “One of our duties is the detention and processing of non-citizen migrants, which is what almost all of our manpower is being delegated to do,” one Border Patrol agent states. “This does prevent us from doing the other part of the duties/responsibilities we were hired for, which is deterring or apprehending individuals that have made an illegal entry into the United States.” [Emphasis added]
In addition, more than half of ICE survey respondents indicated that they had been required to take on responsibilities outside of their normal or traditional duties. One deportation officer explained how ICE went from tracking down and arresting criminals to handing out paperwork. Similarly, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent said that HSI has gone from investigating to providing security at processing facilities. [Emphasis added]
From February 2021 to mid-April 2023, Biden has welcomed about five million border crossers and illegal aliens to the U.S. — millions of whom were released directly into American communities by DHS.
Analysis published in April projects that more than two million border crossers and illegal aliens are expected to be encountered along the border this year. This projection does not include illegal aliens who successfully cross the border, undetected by agents.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) Joseph Cuffari says President Joe Biden has agents at the United States-Mexico border primarily focused on “providing care and welfare services” to border crossers and illegal aliens whom they plan to release into the nation’s interior.
During a hearing before a House Oversight subcommittee this week, Cuffari was asked about the role that Biden’s DHS has agents playing at the southern border amid record-setting levels of illegal immigration.
“It’s concerning that agents are not performing their primary law enforcement roles,” Rep. Clary Higgins (R-LA) said. “America is largely under the impression that we’re moving border agents down [to the border] to enhance law enforcement. Is that the role that these agents are primarily performing, Mr. Cuffari?”
Cuffari responded, suggesting that Biden’s DHS has agents largely working to carry out the administration’s catch and release network that includes a parole pipeline as well as the CBP One mobile app. The network has helped free millions into the U.S. interior.
“The role that they were hired to do, and the performance of their duties is to do law enforcement — at least for the Border Patrol and the criminal investigators deployed there,” Cuffari said, later elaborating:
They’re doing some law enforcement but they’re also providing care and welfare services to the detained and those individuals who they’re processing. [Emphasis added]
Cuffari’s report, released last month, interviewed agents deployed to the border who said they are being taken off law enforcement duties to fulfill the administration’s catch and release priorities.
“Nearly half of the CBP personnel who completed our survey indicated that from their perspective they were required to take on responsibilities outside their normal duties at their work location,” the report states:
Twenty percent said they felt unable to perform their primary law enforcement duties of securing the border. “One of our duties is the detention and processing of non-citizen migrants, which is what almost all of our manpower is being delegated to do,” one Border Patrol agent states. “This does prevent us from doing the other part of the duties/responsibilities we were hired for, which is deterring or apprehending individuals that have made an illegal entry into the United States.” [Emphasis added]
In addition, more than half of ICE survey respondents indicated that they had been required to take on responsibilities outside of their normal or traditional duties. One deportation officer explained how ICE went from tracking down and arresting criminals to handing out paperwork. Similarly, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent said that HSI has gone from investigating to providing security at processing facilities. [Emphasis added]
From February 2021 to mid-April 2023, Biden has welcomed about five million border crossers and illegal aliens to the U.S. — millions of whom were released directly into American communities by DHS.
Analysis published in April projects that more than two million border crossers and illegal aliens are expected to be encountered along the border this year. This projection does not include illegal aliens who successfully cross the border, undetected by agents.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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