Last week, the widely read The Hill newspaper reported that two Washington, DC leftwing open borders activist groups had quietly sent out a memo to Democrats advising them to not discuss the issue of immigration.
Knowing that the subject is a touchy one for Democrats who are generally supportive of increasing the number of immigrants entering the US, while voters in battleground states, including Minnesota, are on record wanting the numbers reduced, silence is recommended.
Two term incumbent Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who supported the so-called “Gang of Eight” amnesty legislation in 2013, and who has an F- grade on her immigration votes recorded by the Arlington, VA based watchdog NumbersUSA, has obviously gotten the memo.
There is nothing on her campaign website that would educate voters about her stance on the issue. Other than a glowing personal story narration about herself, her campaign website appears to be lacking any clear position statement.
However, an ambitious voter can search the internet and find out how she feels about the Somali refugees in her state.
Like the President, Newberger has no fear
Her opponent, GOP candidate State Representative Jim Newberger (R-15B), has no such fear of stating his positions on key issues of concern to Minnesotans.
Prominent on his campaign website issues page is his stance on refugee program reform something the Trump administration has also prioritized:
Part of what makes our nation the greatest nation of the modern age, is that we help others. America has been the shining city on the hill, a beacon of hope for the world. We must continue to shine. However, over the past decade, thanks to the Obama Administration and the support of Senator Klobuchar, our Refugee Resettlement Program has become a fast track citizenship program for hundreds of thousands of people who are poorly vetted and do not have any intention of adopting American Law. There is only one thing that makes us Americans. It’s that we all agree to live under the same law, i.e. the Constitution. Once we lose that, we lose our country. America needs to reform our refugee program.
He recently sat down with a reporter at the Hutchison Leader to discuss a wide range of issues. Hutchison, a town of about 14,000, is 60 miles west of downtown Minneapolis the epicenter of Somali refugee resettlement in the state and indeed the entire US.
Clearly with no timidity about where he stands on the subject of border security and refugee program reform, he told the Leader “that the U.S. should secure its borders and that the state’s refugee resettlement program should be altered.”
My biggest support would be from Greater Minnesota, rural Minnesota, especially from the agricultural community and women voters. The reason for that is because I believe we need to shut down the refugee resettlement program and fix it. Right now, the program currently offers unrestricted resettlement in Minnesota. We’re the No. 1 resettlement state in the nation. Some refugees, not all, do not intend to live under American law. They want to live under a different form of law that says women are property.
Poll margin has narrowed
It is an uphill climb for Newberger who trails Klobuchar by a margin of 22 percentage points in the latest Real Clear Politics average. Demonstrating some slippage by Klobuchar, the Senator had held a 30 point lead over Newberger in some polls in recent months.
As a migrant caravan works its way to our southern border, and with President Donald Trump putting the spotlight on immigration, Minnesota voters might do well to press the Senator by putting the hot topic front and center in the remaining two weeks of the campaign.
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Anna Marie Bolton is a reporter for The Minnesota Sun.
