Council opposes proposed sanctuary state

On Tuesday, Feb. 20, Babbitt city council addressed the bill being proposed by DFL lawmakers in the current legislative session that would make Minnesota a ‘sanctuary state.’

The bill titled the ‘North Star Bill,’ would prevent state and local law enforcement in Minnesota from using state resources to enforce federal immigration laws.

The bill would give Minnesota the designation of a sanctuary state and give a green light for illegal immigrants to come to our state, where resources are already stretched thin.

“We’re already overwhelmed with people that taxpayers are flipping the bill for right now. Imagine a few more million people coming into the state of Minnesota, which is what they will do (if the bill was to pass),” said Babbitt council member Joseph White.

The North Star Bill is currently dead in the water thanks to swing-district Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown.

Hauschild sits on the DFL’s one-seat majority in the Senate and said publicly he wouldn’t support the bill, which means it wouldn’t pass in the legislature.

Rep.DaveLislegard,DFL-Aurora, also voiced opposition.

“IdoNOTsupportMinnesota becoming a Sanctuary State… and this WILL NOT become law!” said Lislegard in a tweet sent after the bill was proposed in the legislative session.

Range representative Roger Skraba (R-Ely) is also opposed to the bill, as it was expected all Republicans would be opposed to this kind of legislation.

The Babbitt City Council showed their solidarity and support for their Iron Range representatives who helped stop this bill from becoming law and stood up for their constituent’s best interests.

“From my understanding, it’s the Iron Range that is stopping this from happening right now. I want to support them and all the representatives to stop this nonsense from happening,” said White.

White made a motion to send a letter from the council to Iron Range representatives supporting their opposition to the North Star Bill.

The rest of the council was in agreement with White, and voted unanimously to send the letter.

“We’re at a rough point in U.S. history, at least in my lifetime,” said White. “There’s so much division, and honestly, if we don’t follow the laws that we have, we’re never going to have unity in our country.”