Daily Digest: Strong reaction to travel ban ruling
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Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Here's the Digest.
1. Supreme Court travel ban decision sparks strong reactions. Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Tuesday, Muslim community leaders, immigration attorneys and advocates from around the Twin Cities decried the decision, saying they fear it will prompt broader immigration restrictions and amplify discrimination against Minnesota’s growing Muslim community. In a news conference at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Minneapolis office, a parade of speakers blasted the 5-4 vote to uphold the restriction on travel from several mostly Muslim countries, comparing it to historic Supreme Court rulings that upheld legalized racial discrimination, the denial of citizenship based on race, and the internment of Japanese-Americans. But others, who have championed Trump’s immigration proposals as important strategies to combat terrorism, applauded the decision. State Sen. Karin Housley of St. Mary's Point, the Republican-endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Tina Smith, said in a statement that the ruling was a “victory for the rule of law and the Constitution.” Jim Hagedorn, the GOP’s endorsed candidate for Minnesota’s First Congressional District, said he supported the court’s decision and other efforts to restrict immigration. “The United States and the state of Minnesota have assimilation, terrorism and welfare problems associated with those who migrate from countries that hate America,” he said in a statement. (Star Tribune)
2. Swanson sues over border separations. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and 16 other Democratic state attorneys general are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over policies that separated more than 2,000 migrant children from their parents at the U.S-Mexico border. The lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges violations of the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution and seeks a court order requiring the federal government to “expeditiously” reunite parents separated from their children and provide parents with information about their child’s whereabouts, according to a release from Swanson’s office. “There has been so much confusion and chaos surrounding the child separation policy and the reunification of families. Intervention by a federal court can help bring order to the process, protect the interests of the children, and reunify families,” Swanson said in a statement. Swanson and attorneys general in states like New York and California joined the state of Washington in the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. (MPR News)
3. Police body cam footage to be released after fatal shooting. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he'll release body camera footage from the fatal shooting of an African-American man by Minneapolis police. Thurman Blevins, 31, died of multiple gunshot wounds on Saturday in north Minneapolis. Investigators say the two officers' cameras recorded video. Witnesses differ on whether they saw Blevins with a gun. Frey said he'll first consult with the Blevins family and wait until the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has completed interviews with key witnesses before releasing the video. "State law gives authority to law enforcement entities, within certain parameters, to determine when evidence — including body camera footage — is released. The Minneapolis Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Arradondo, is the law enforcement entity within the city, and the MPD reports to me," said Frey in a press release. "The desire for a transparent process must always be balanced with the need for a complete and fair investigation. To that end, I have decided to release the body camera footage." (MPR News)
4. Regulators wrestle with pipeline decision. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission continued to wrestle Tuesday with how to balance the benefits of approving Enbridge's Line 3 oil pipeline project against the consequences of not approving the proposed line. A key question that emerged in testimony was how long the current Line 3 would continue to operate if state regulators decide not to approve Enbridge's plan to replace the old line with a new pipe along a different route. The existing line was built in the early 1960s. It's cracking, and corroding, and has spilled huge amounts of oil in the past — including the largest ever inland oil spill in the country in 1991 near Grand Rapids, Minn. Several PUC commissioners appear conflicted over the benefits of approving a new pipeline, constructed with modern methods. They agree that would reduce the risk of a major oil spill compared to the old line. But they also recognize a new pipeline along a different corridor would open up a new part of northern Minnesota to potential environmental damage. (MPR News)
5. Walker on hot seat as Trump targets Harley -Davidson. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s full-throttled love of Harley-Davidson motorcycles has been intertwined with his rising political career, but now he must navigate revved up criticism of the Milwaukee-based company from President Donald Trump. The president on Tuesday tweeted that if Harley goes through with its plans to move some production overseas, “it will be the beginning of the end – they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!” Trump was referring to tariffs Harley-Davidson would face on motorcycles produced overseas and shipped back to the U.S. for sale. Walker has avoided directly criticizing Trump on the issue, repeatedly saying instead that no tariffs would be good for Wisconsin manufacturers and farmers. He hasn’t spelled out what he would do to further that policy and his spokeswoman repeated that same position Tuesday when asked to react to Trump’s tweets. “Governor Walker believes there should be no tariffs or trade barriers as the President stated earlier this month at the G7 summit,” Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said. “When there’s a level playing field, American workers and businesses win.” Walker’s Democratic opponents — eight are running for a chance to take him on — pounced on the conflict. (AP)
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