Friends and neighbors,
There’s a spending crisis brewing in Minnesota, and it’s happening because of choices made by Democrats at the Capitol. Here’s the latest challenge: The number of illegal immigrants enrolling in MinnesotaCare is nearly triple what the Walz administration projected for the entire year. The state expected just under 6,000 enrollees by 2026. In reality, more than 17,000 have already signed up in just three months. It’s a surge that is likely not slowing down.
Why are illegal immigrants getting taxpayer-funded healthcare in the first place? It was the result of a policy that Democrats passed in 2023, when they had total control of state government.
We are already facing a $6 billion deficit on the horizon. Every dollar spent on illegal immigrants is a dollar that won’t be available for our seniors, people with disabilities, and struggling families. While Democrats are celebrating their progress for caring for illegal aliens, they’re simultaneously proposing cuts to nursing homes, disability services, and even students. These are lifelines for Minnesota citizens who have paid taxes their whole lives and built this state. Now they’re being told there’s just not money left for them, because the priority is healthcare for people who broke the law to get here.
Minnesota taxpayers foot 100% of this bill. There’s no federal match, no extra help. The state is on the hook for the entire amount. The price tag has already ballooned past $600 million and will likely climb even higher as this surge continues. Meanwhile, the Health Care Access Fund, which was originally meant to help the most vulnerable, gets raided for this new benefit for illegal aliens.
It doesn’t stop there. To cover the exploding costs and out of control spending in their budgets, the Democrats plan to hike fees and taxes on every Minnesotan. The Senate Democrat health and human services bill alone contains nearly $600 million in tax and fee increases that will make healthcare significantly more expensive for Minnesotans.
This is about priorities. Taxpayers are not a bottomless well. Before we hand out benefits to those who aren’t here legally, we need to take care of our own.