Tim Walz Pushed For Minnesota To Become Sanctuary State, Gave Illegal Immigrants Driver’s Licenses

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed for Minnesota to become a sanctuary state and signed legislation allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday tapped Walz, a two-term liberal Democrat governor from Minnesota, as her running mate. Walz has a history of advocating for liberal policies on illegal immigration, one of the top issues on voters’ minds heading into the November election.

During his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, Walz openly advocated for Minnesota to become a sanctuary state, where illegal immigrants would be safe from deportation.

“My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws,” Walz said at the time. “Here’s what I believe: Congress has given federal agencies the authority to enforce immigration laws in Minnesota, and I support their doing so.”

Sanctuary states do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials, which allows illegal immigrants charged with violent crimes to remain in the country.

Michigan Republicans wrote a letter to Waltz earlier this year outlining their concerns about legislation that would officially prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.

“This legislation, which does nothing to help the citizens of Minnesota and is devoid of common sense, ignores the ongoing crisis at our southern border that is plaguing our nation,” the lawmakers wrote. “It will encourage more illegal immigration, which has already reached record highs under the Biden Administration.”

As governor, Walz signed legislation in 2023 that allowed as many as 81,000 illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, a policy that critics say encourages and rewards illegal immigration.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a border security advocacy organization, says the policy “allows those breaking the nation’s immigration laws to remain hidden in plain sight, promotes the normalization of illegal aliens, and undermines the rule of law.”

“There is no reason for states to provide state identification documents to people who have no right to be present in the United States,” FAIR goes on to assert.

Numbers USA, an organization that advocates for increased border security, gave Walz a D on immigration for his time as a congressman, noting that Walz co-sponsored a bill to increase chain migration and offer amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.

Walz also called former President Donald Trump’s plan to use Defense Department funds to build a wall on the southern border “ridiculous.” Recent polling has found that a majority of Americans support building a border wall, increasing deportations, and penalizing businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

Harris’ choice of Walz occurs amid an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis. President Joe Biden tasked Harris with stemming the tide of migration to our southern border, but the country has seen an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants unlawfully cross the border since the two took office.

Recent polls have found that immigration is one of the most important issues for voters heading into the November election, and that an increasing share of Americans are in favor of slashing immigration and ramping up mass deportations.