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Minnesota House subcommittee passes bill to end local jail contracts with ICE

By Brad Sigal

Representative Lee and Nicole Richards of SAR.

St. Paul, MN – On February 19, the House Subcommittee on Local Government voted to pass House File 3060. HF 3060 is a bill that would end contracts that local jails in Minnesota have with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain people facing civil immigration charges. Currently several county jails in Minnesota have contracts with ICE to hold hundreds of immigrants facing deportation.

The bill, sponsored by democrat Representative Fue Lee, who represents part of north Minneapolis, will now advance to the Government Operations Committee.

Before voting on the bill, the committee heard testimony from members of Sanctuary and Resistance to Injustice (SARI), the Sanctuary State Coalition, Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM) and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). After hearing their testimony, the committee voted to pass the bill.

In the face of the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on immigrants, this bill is one of several supported by the movement fighting to make Minnesota a sanctuary state.

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