Minnesota AG: ICE Surge Is Being Used to Pressure State for Voter Data Access
Minnesota officials say federal immigration enforcement in the state has been used as leverage to press for access to sensitive public data, not just to enforce immigration laws.
The criticism centers on a January 24 letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sent amid nationwide outrage over the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent.
Bondi’s letter linked federal cooperation and a potential easing of enforcement to three demands: repealing sanctuary policies, sharing state welfare and public assistance data, and allowing the Department of Justice to access Minnesota’s voter rolls to confirm compliance with federal law.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon responded with a firm “no,” calling the request an “outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data on millions of U.S. citizens,” and noting ongoing litigation over voter data access.
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Governor Tim Walz said the demands, especially for voter information, were unrelated to fraud or any serious enforcement goal, and rejected them as irrelevant to the state’s needs.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has in press events tied the federal immigration surge itself to political stakes, saying Washington needs to mend fences after the intense ICE presence and related violence in Minnesota communities.
The escalating rhetoric comes amid multiple court hearings over whether federal immigration operations can continue and orders preventing destruction of evidence related to Pretti’s death.
State leaders say they will continue to protect Minnesotans’ private information while challenging federal demands in court, and further hearings are expected this week.
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