HF 3945

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; directing the attorney general to prepare a report on the
costs of illegal immigration to the state; requiring the attorney general to assess
the cost of illegal immigration to the federal government; directing the attorney
general to monitor and record the responses of federal immigration authorities to
inquiries submitted by state law enforcement officers; proposing coding for new
law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 8; 626.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [8.085] ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Purpose statement. new text end

new text begin It is the intent of the legislature to address the
costs and public safety issues associated with illegal immigration. The federal government
has failed to fulfill its constitutional obligation to enforce federal immigration law and
policy. The failure of federal immigration policy has resulted in an unimpeded flow of
illegal immigrants into the state and the costs of illegal immigration being shifted from
the federal government to the state. The legislature hereby adopts the following policies
that are designed to calculate the cost of illegal immigration to the state and recover
those costs from the federal government.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Monitoring federal response; report. new text end

new text begin The attorney general shall annually
compile the data collected and submitted by law enforcement agencies under section
626.5533 regarding the federal response to illegal immigration requests from state law
enforcement officers. The attorney general shall prepare a report that analyzes the data
collected and annually provide a copy of the report to the governor, senate majority
leader, senate minority leader, speaker of the house, and house minority leader on or
before February 1.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Report. new text end

new text begin The attorney general, in coordination with the state Supreme
Court and all relevant departments and local units of government, shall annually (1)
calculate the costs incurred by state and local units of government and hospitals because
of the presence of, and their contact with, illegal immigrants, and (2) evaluate the impact
and potential impact of illegal immigrants on public safety. In calculating the cost of
illegal immigration to the state and its political subdivisions, the attorney general shall
not include the costs associated with illegal immigrants who, at the request of law
enforcement, are detained by federal immigration authorities and deported or subjected to
deportation proceedings. The attorney general shall provide a copy of the report to the
governor, senate majority leader, senate minority leader, speaker of the house, and house
minority leader on or before February 1.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Federal chargeback and public safety report. new text end

new text begin The attorney general
shall annually charge back the cost of illegal immigration to the state and local units of
government, as calculated in the report required by subdivision 2, to the United States
Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate federal agencies. The attorney
general shall submit a copy of the report along with the state's request for federal
reimbursement. If the United States refuses to reimburse the state for all or any portion
of the chargeback, the attorney general must prepare and submit a report, as provided in
subdivision 5, regarding the viability of using the authority granted the attorney general
under section 8.09 to file suit and seek full and complete reimbursement from the federal
government.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Lawsuit evaluation; report. new text end

new text begin If the federal government refuses the
request for reimbursement under subdivision 4, the attorney general shall prepare a
report and recommendations regarding the viability of a lawsuit to recover from the
federal government the state's unreimbursed costs of illegal immigration. The report
must consider all federal funding obligations that are not authorized under the federal
constitution in comparison to costs incurred by the state and local governments of
Minnesota to cover the cost of illegal immigration to the state. The attorney general
shall provide a copy of the report to the governor, senate majority leader, senate minority
leader, speaker of the house, and house minority leader.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [626.5533] REPORTING OF REQUESTS TO FEDERAL IMMIGRATION
AUTHORITIES.
new text end

new text begin A peace officer must report to the head of the officer's department every request the
officer submits to federal immigration authorities for assistance with illegal immigrants
and separately for assistance with suspected illegal immigrants. As part of the report,
the officer must specify and describe the federal authority's response to the officer's
request. The head of each state and local law enforcement agency must provide copies
of the reports collected in the preceding six months to the attorney general on July 1 and
December 31 of each year. The attorney general, in consultation with the commissioner
of public safety, shall adopt a reporting form to be used by law enforcement agencies
in making the reports required under this section. The reporting form must include for
each incident all of the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) the date of the request;
new text end

new text begin (2) the federal response to the request;
new text end

new text begin (3) the disposition of the case; and
new text end

new text begin (4) any additional information the attorney general considers necessary for the
acquisition of accurate and relevant data pertaining to both the cost and public safety
impact of illegal immigration.
new text end