Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar talks about last effect of federal immigration crackdown : NPR

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Sen. Amy Klobuchar represents Minnesota and is also seeking the Democratic governor nomination there, and she’s in line. Senator, welcome back.

AMY KLOBUCHAR: Well, thank you, Steve. Great to be there.

INSKEEP: Governor Walz spoke there about the economic ruin of Minnesotans and he said the government needs to, quote, “fix what it’s broken.” The idea, in my opinion, is that the federal government has damaged people’s lives and they should pay the price. Should they?

KLOBUCHAR: Yes. Let’s start with those close to Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Investigations are underway – in one state, one federal state combined – into these outrageous murders of two innocent American citizens. These cases are ongoing and we need the federal government to allow full access to investigative evidence to the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This is the first and most obvious thing.

Second, a lot of money has been spent in this area. The $75 billion they invested in ICE, which tripled their budget and made them bigger than the FBI, was spent on this invasion. You look at what it was like every week. It is estimated that American taxpayers were paying $18 million each week, including $9 million in compensation for border control and ICE, and $4.5 million for accommodation. So it’s all a question of values. Is this how you want to spend your money, American taxpayers? My answer is no.

And then there are the economic costs and the cost of overtime for police, not just in Minneapolis, in suburban police departments, rural police departments. So obviously we’ll do it and they’ll ask for compensation for all the overtime, all that extra time. And then, of course, there will be civil suits for violations of the rights of people who are victims of racial profiling. Among the seniors, door kicked in, thrown in a car in their underwear, driven around for an hour only for them to find out, oh, we had the wrong guy. He is perfectly innocent. The man we’re trying to arrest has been in prison for years.

INSKEEP: So you’re telling me that legal action is likely here.

KLOBUCHAR: Certainly.

REGISTRATION: OK. I would like to ask a question on another aspect of the matter. There is sometimes talk of preserving evidence so that people who have violated citizens’ rights can be prosecuted by a future administration. You were a prosecutor in Minneapolis. Can you tell me about this scenario? What would it take to preserve evidence and prepare for prosecution in three years?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, a lot of it will depend, of course, on the subject matter of the cases and the statutes of limitations, things like that. But the feds…

INSKEEP: Let’s say the shooting of the two American citizens.

KLOBUCHAR: Okay. The feds can’t destroy this evidence. A federal judge in Minnesota appointed by Donald Trump ruled that he could not destroy this evidence. So you’ll have evidence that should be there, and then you’ll have the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that just wants access to that evidence because, in the case of Renee Good, they’re actually doing a parallel investigation with the Minnesota Attorney General and the county attorney to look into that because that investigation, if you recall, was closed by the federal government. So they’re looking for that evidence right now.

INSKEEP: So you think it would be possible to prosecute people in three years?

KLOBUCHAR: Yes, depending on the statute of limitations. But I think they’ll do it sooner than that at the state level, and maybe at the federal level in Alex Pretti’s case. And then there will also be civil suits.

REGISTRATION: OK. Do you think there could be a good faith investigation on the federal side?

KLOBUCHAR: There has to be a good faith investigation.

INSKEEP: We should also note that we’re on the brink of a DHS shutdown, a Homeland Security shutdown, and that’s because of this dispute over new rules for immigration agents. It doesn’t appear that you and the Senate are very close to agreement on this.

KLOBUCHAR: Well, that was planned. Most of the government, the vast majority of the government, is funded because we had a deal. The only part that isn’t, Homeland Security. We believe ICE should be separated from TSA. These parts should be funded. We should have a separate vote on this, a negotiation on ICE with much needed reform and, in my opinion, a reduction in all the funding they have received. It was completely out of control. They have too much money. It’s a lot of that. But they need training. They need body camera requirements. They must respect the rules of police conduct. They must comply with the Fourth Amendment on searches and seizures and have court warrants. The list goes on and on as they were essentially a roving band of poorly trained officers.

INSKEEP: And…

KLOBUCHAR: And this must stop. But Minnesotans stood together, watched ICE, and never blinked. And that’s why today we learned, thanks to yesterday’s announcement, that ICE is leaving Minnesota.

REGISTRATION: OK. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who is also running for governor there. Thank you very much for your time, as always.

KLOBUCHAR: Thank you, Steve.

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