The two parties in St. Paul have very different priorities this session. For Republicans, the focus is “affordability;” for the DFL, it is gun control and immigration.
Part of the DFL’s immigration package is handout of $40 million of Minnesota taxpayers money to pay people’s rent. Fox 9 reports:
Lawmakers say the state has seen about 4,000 eviction filings through February, indicating a record pace for 2026. And Democrats say it may get worst as a result of people staying home during the ICE surge.
“We are on the edge of an eviction crisis in Minnesota,” said Sen. Lindsey Port. “This bill is intended to address that all across the state to keep people stably housed.”
HF 3403 / SF 3596 would use funds drawn from a reserve initially created to reimburse homeowners whose properties were foreclosed and sold for more than they owed in property taxes. The argument is that, during Operation Metro Surge, some people were afraid to go to work, lost earnings, and fell behind on their rent so Minnesota’s taxpayers ought to pay up.
This measure applies primarily to people in the United States illegally. Lest there be any doubt about this, Sen. Eric Lucero (R) offered an amendment to the bill stipulating that the funds only go to “individuals who are United States citizens or who otherwise have lawful immigration status:” Every single Senate DFLer — including the media’s go-to “moderate,” Sen. Judy Seeberger — voted against it.
Even more bizzare were the votes — again, by every single DFLer in the Senate — to block Republican amendments which would have excluded “A household that includes a person who is required to register as a predatory offender under Minnesota Statutes” and “A household that includes a person who has been charged with or convicted of a crime under state or federal law relating to defrauding a government program or theft of public funds” from receiving taxpayer funded hanouts under this scheme.
This bill is clearly a signature piece of legislation for the DFL. No sooner had the Senate voted it through than Governor Walz himself chimed in with his support:
Let’s not. With law abiding Minnesotans telling us that they are feeling their budgets being squeezed, another fraud riddled handout to special interest groups is a slap in the face.
