In a big Senate race reversal, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig voices regrets over vote on immigration law
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In a key backtrack during Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig said Monday she regrets a vote in support of an immigration law sought by President Donald Trump that provided agents more detention power.
Last January’s passage of the Laken Riley Act, — allowing for detention of noncitizens without bail if they’re charged with burglary, assaulting a police officer or other crimes — saw little Democratic support. But Craig, who represents the swing 2nd Congressional District, was the only Minnesota DFL member to break ranks.
In a commentary published in the Minnesota Star Tribune, Craig said she has reflected on the vote following the federal immigration enforcement action in the state that led to thousands of arrests and the deaths of two U.S. citizens shot by immigration agents. Looking back, she wrote she would do things differently.
“It is true that the president is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it’s also become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision,” Craig wrote. “And I regret my vote.”
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The vote and the response to “Operation Metro Surge” more broadly have been a prominent issue in the DFL nomination contest. U.S. Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, has highlighted Craig's vote on the law and criticized her as out of step on the issue, especially after the prolonged operation that brought thousands of agents to Minnesota.
Flanagan and Craig are vying for the seat U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, a fellow Democrat, will leave after this year.
Flanagan called Craig’s reversal a flip flop and said the vote caused harm.
“Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote with Donald Trump to empower ICE and stood by that vote for over a year,” Flanagan said. “No amount of regret can reunite families, save children from indefinite detention, or make our communities whole again.”
For months, Craig had defended her vote on the legislation, saying the law requires due process before removals from the country.
“Minnesotans believe that we have to protect our borders, and most Minnesotans agree that individuals who are undocumented who commit crimes, including violent ones, should be detained. It still requires due process,” Craig told MPR News in January.
She was asked about the vote in a recent meeting with college Democrats and said the bill was imperfect. She added that the Trump administration was not following that law or others in its recent immigration enforcement actions. Flanagan’s campaign pointed to that and other exchanges as a sign of clear difference between the two candidates on immigration.
The winner of the race between Craig and Flanagan, which could go all the way to an August primary, will face one of several Republicans vying for that party’s nomination. The GOP candidates have been in line with the Trump administration on immigration matters.
