Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith Call on ICE to Allow Access to Legal Counsel
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) are calling on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow federal law and the Constitution by allowing people in detention to have access to legal counsel. Reports indicate that some of those detained, including at least one U.S. citizen, are being denied their constitutional right to access an attorney. “As you know the right to due process and the right to counsel are foundational constitutional guarantees enshrined in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. ICE and all other federal law enforcement agencies are required to honor these constitutional rights, regardless of a person’s immigration status,” the Senators wrote. “It is critical that ICE have policies and practices in place that ensure agents are complying with the Constitution, federal law, and ICE’s own regulations, including access to counsel.” The full text of the letter is below and can be found here. Dear Acting Director Lyons: We write to express our serious concerns regarding reports that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has denied access to counsel to people detained at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. This includes reports that federal law enforcement personnel denied access to an attorney who represents a U.S. citizen and Iraq War veteran who was being detained at the facility. In response to attorney demands to see their clients, one ICE agent reportedly said: “[i]f we let you see your clients, we would have to let all the attorneys see their clients, and imagine the chaos.”
Klobuchar, Smith Urge DOJ to Reverse Decision and Allow Joint Investigation Into Fatal ICE Shooting
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) are pressing the U.S. Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to coordinate with state and local law enforcement and allow for a joint investigation with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension into the tragic shooting of Renee Nicole Good. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Klobuchar and Smith called for a thorough, objective, and impartial investigation, which requires full cooperation with state investigators and local authorities. “We write to express our serious concerns regarding reports that the Justice Department, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is no longer coordinating with state and local law enforcement in the investigation into the tragic shooting of Renee Nicole Good. It is critical there be a thorough, objective, and impartial investigation. That requires full cooperation with state investigators and local authorities,” wrote the Senators. “After the assassination of Melissa Hortman and the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, federal officials worked closely and cooperatively with state law enforcement. As in those cases, state law enforcement and investigators can bring extensive expertise to this critical investigation,” the Senators continued. The full text of the letter is below and can be found here. Dear Attorney General Bondi: We write to express our serious concerns regarding reports that the Justice Department, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is no longer coordinating with state and local law enforcement in the investigation into the tragic shooting of Renee Nicole Good. It is critical
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Patty Murray Introduce Bill to Protect Federal Funding for Birth Control, Reproductive Health Care Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act, a bill that would safeguard funding for Title X – the country’s only federal program dedicated to providing family planning and preventive health services, including birth control, cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and reproductive health care – following attacks on the program by the Trump Administration last week. Title X clinics serve 4 million people annually, and in 2023 alone, more than 1.5 million visits to Planned Parenthood health centers were made possible by the program. The
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from Sulfide Mining
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced legislation that would protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) from the threat posed by sulfide mining in the surrounding watershed. The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act would permanently prohibit new sulfide ore mining on 225,504 acres of federal forest land in the Rainy River watershed, which drains into the BWCAW. “The Boundary Waters must be protected for today, and future generations. The impartial science and data show unequivocally that copper-nickel sulfide mining poses an unacceptable risk to the Boundary Waters. “Mining is an important driver of Minnesota’s economy and the pride of every
Senator Smith Joins Bipartisan Push to Reverse DOGE’s Cuts to Heating Assistance for Minnesotans
MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) is part of a bipartisan push to reverse course on DOGE’s push to fire all staff that administer the Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps families pay utility bills when they need help making ends meet through Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program. The Administration has released 90 percent of those federal funds to state partners, but the remaining 10 percent, almost $400 million, is in limbo without staff to administer the funding to states. “Firing all the workers from the office that helps families keep their homes warm and safe through the winter is
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Mike Rounds Reintroduce Bipartisan Rural Housing Legislation
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to improve federal rural housing programs and strengthen the supply of affordable housing in rural America. The legislation would represent the most significant Rural Housing Service reforms in decades . The Rural Housing Service expands housing opportunities by offering loans, grants, and rental assistance to rural communities across the country. Rural parts of the country saw only a 1.7% increase in the number of housing units between 2010 and 2020, with almost half of states seeing a decrease in the number of rural units. According to the Minnesota Housing Partnership, every county in Minnesota
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