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Heated testimony for and against House File 16 after sponsor moves to refer bill on reporting to ICE
Summary
Representative Reimer presented House File 16 on March 12; the chair moved to refer the bill, which would require reporting certain noncitizen arrestees to ICE and constrain local noncooperation policies, to the House Elections, Finance and Government Operations Committee.
Representative Reimer presented House File 16 to the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee on March 12 and the chair moved the bill before the committee with a recommendation that it be re‑referred to the House Elections, Finance and Government Operations Committee. The bill requires that arrests of people present unlawfully in the United States on suspicion of specified violent crimes be reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and seeks to limit state or local policies that restrict information sharing with federal immigration authorities.
Charles Thayer testified about the 2024 murder of his mother and urged lawmakers to support mandatory reporting so potentially dangerous noncitizen offenders can be considered for deportation. David Zimmer of the Center of the American Experiment testified in support, arguing that cooperation with federal partners is a routine and appropriate law‑enforcement practice. "This spirit of cooperation runs both ways and it serves as the foundation for law enforcement," Zimmer said.
Opposition testimony came from a broad coalition of legal services, victims' advocates, health and public‑safety professionals, local officials and immigrant‑rights groups. Ben Gleichel of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota said the bill "will make all people residing in Minnesota less safe" by discouraging victims and witnesses — particularly undocumented survivors of domestic violence or trafficking — from contacting police. The Advocates for Human Rights, represented by Madeline Lohman, warned the bill would give traffickers an additional tool to intimidate victims and hamper investigations.
Several speakers, including Lillian Carcamo and David Campana of the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs, recounted personal stories of domestic abuse and said survivors avoided police because of immigration fears. Todd Barnett, Minneapolis commissioner of community safety, testified that Minneapolis's long‑standing separation ordinance, which generally restricts asking about immigration status, was designed to build trust and that the bill would reduce community trust and public safety in his city.
Professor Anna Patratz Acosta of Mitchell Hamline School of Law testified about conflicts with federal privacy laws, saying House File 16's language did not adequately protect health and school records and could conflict with HIPAA and FERPA. Hennepin County Senior Assistant County Attorney Edder Castillo said the bill would divert law‑enforcement and prosecutorial resources and could make victims less willing to testify, complicating prosecutions.
Committee members asked questions about the bill’s scope and data issues. Several members noted the complexity of immigration status and raised concerns about unintended effects on public safety; others said the measure is narrowly targeted at people accused of enumerated violent offenses. The transcript records the long public record of testimony; committee action recorded earlier in the item's presentation shows the chair moved the bill with recommendation to re‑refer it to Elections, Finance and Government Operations, but the transcript does not record a final committee vote on the bill during the hearing.
