Senator John Jasinski (R-Faribault): issued the following statement in response to news reports that Democrats in the Minnesota Legislature will be introducing legislation to make Minnesota a “Sanctuary State,” which would bar state and local officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities to deport those in Minnesota illegally.

“There is no scenario where I would ever support making Minnesota a “Sanctuary State” from federal immigration law. Border security is a critical issue facing the nation, and creating incentives for those who would violate our country’s immigration law to come to Minnesota does nothing to improve the challenges at the border. Even worse, it would be incredibly burdensome to Minnesota taxpayers as we see other states which are struggling with costs and burdens to social services resources due to high influxes of people illegally crossing the border.”