St. Paul, Minn. – Prior to President Donald Trump’s visit to Duluth Wednesday, Minnesota House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman (DFL – Brooklyn Park) and the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus (POCI) of the House released a joint statement regarding his administration’s practice of separating children from their families at the border:
“The actions of President Trump, along with his subordinates like Attorney General Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen, go against what we value as Minnesotans and Americans. This practice of separating family members should have never started in the first place, and no executive order will change that. No parent, regardless of immigration status, should experience the horror of having a child ripped away from them. Likewise, no child should be forced into such an uncertain, fearful predicament where their health, development, and well-being are put in jeopardy.
“We applaud Gov. Mark Dayton for his leadership in declaring the state of Minnesota will take no part in this practice, including through National Guard personnel or other resources. Simply, these are human rights violations that reflect upon the worst of what this administration is capable of. Thousands of children are already interned, and backtracking on this completely callous action now doesn’t fix the massive problems President Trump has caused and likely will continue to cause.”
The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus formed in 2017 and includes Reps. Mary Kunesh-Podein (41B), Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Peggy Flanagan (46A), Erin Maye Quade (57A), Fue Lee (59A), Ilhan Omar (60B), Susan Allen (62B), Rena Moran (65A), and Carlos Mariani (65B).