Minneapolis, MN – The recent exchange between candidates in Minnesota’s First Congressional District over health insurance for undocumented immigrants is another reminder of how easily immigrant communities become targets in political campaigns. Republican Congressman Brad Finstad has accused Democratic candidate Jake Johnson of supporting health insurance for people without legal immigration status. Jake Johnson has responded that he would not support health care coverage for undocumented immigrants.
We recognize that candidates will disagree about immigration policy, public benefits, border enforcement, and the role of government. Those are legitimate subjects for public debate. But there is a fundamental distinction between debating public policy and using language that stigmatizes, dehumanizes, and reduces entire communities to their immigration status.
At COPAL, we deliberately do not use the word illegal to describe a person. A person is not illegal. Immigration status does not define someone’s humanity, dignity, or worth. We call on our society to recognize this distinction and refrain from using language that reduces people to their immigration status or denies their humanity.
We cannot build a better society by dehumanizing our neighbors.
This kind of political strategy is not new to Minnesota. In 2006, then-Governor Tim Pawlenty made immigration a central theme of his campaign advertising, including an advertisement opposing in-state tuition benefits for the children of undocumented immigrants. Minnesota Public Radio reported at the time that immigration had become a political wedge issue in the gubernatorial race. Today, we hear similar rhetoric from President Donald Trump and other elected officials, including Congressman Tom Emmer, the third highest-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives. Emmer has made public statements criticizing immigrants and defending ICE’s actions during Operation Metro Surge. The language may change, but the political strategy remains familiar: create fear, portray a vulnerable population as a threat, and use that fear to gain political support.
Our history should teach us where this kind of politics can lead. Millions of people have migrated throughout history because of poverty, famine, persecution, violence, political instability, and the search for opportunity. Millions of Europeans came to this country seeking safety and a better future. Their journeys, struggles, and contributions are part of the American story.
Yet the United States has repeatedly treated immigrant communities and communities of color as outsiders or as enemies to be feared. Black people and immigrants from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and many other places have experienced exclusion, discrimination, segregation, and hostility. The names and faces of the targeted communities may change, but the consequences of dehumanization remain.
Minnesota has its own painful history. During World War I, anti-German nativism led to the suppression of German cultural expression, hostility toward German Americans, and attacks on their institutions and livelihoods. In April 1918, a statue of Germania was removed from the Germania Life Insurance Building in St. Paul, and the company changed its name to Guardian Life Insurance Company. German American residents were boycotted, threatened, and subjected to violence. These events are documented by the Minnesota Historical Society.
We must ask ourselves: Have we learned anything from this history?
Today, immigrant communities are living through an increasingly hostile environment. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in separate encounters involving federal immigration agents have deepened fear and raised urgent questions about the use of government power and accountability. More than 50 people have died in ICE custody since the beginning of the second Trump administration, according to reporting and human rights documentation. There are also serious concerns about mass deportations, transfers of people to third countries, detention conditions, and the erosion of due process and basic human rights. These are not marginal issues. They demand public scrutiny, transparency, and accountability.
Shouldn’t these be the issues that concern those seeking public office?
Millions of people in this country are struggling to afford health insurance, housing, food, and other necessities. Families are working hard and still falling behind. These challenges deserve serious attention from candidates and elected officials. We should be debating the policies, economic priorities, and decisions that shape people’s lives—not scapegoating immigrant communities or using them as political instruments.
The enemy isn’t my immigrant neighbor. The real challenges and enemies facing our communities are poverty, inequality, discrimination, the cost of living, the price of gas, and the lack of economic opportunity. We should be confronting the systems and policies that perpetuate these conditions rather than turning against our neighbors.
People migrate because they seek safety, food, opportunity, and a better future for their families. Wanting to live free from fear is not a crime. Seeking dignity, safety, and opportunity should never be punished. No one’s humanity should be questioned or denied because of where they were born, the language they speak, or the documents they carry.
COPAL calls on all candidates for public office to reject language and political strategies that denigrate, stigmatize, and dehumanize people because of their immigration status. Candidates have a responsibility to engage in honest debate, present meaningful policy solutions, and recognize the dignity of the communities they seek to represent. We can disagree about policy without disrespecting people. We can debate immigration enforcement without denying anyone’s humanity.
Immigrant dignity, economic justice, access to health care, and constitutional protections are not separate struggles. They are connected questions about the kind of society we want to build and the values we expect our elected leaders to defend. We should be demanding that candidates address the real challenges facing our communities—not exploit fear, divide our neighbors, or dehumanize people for political gain. The dignity and rights of every person must remain at the center of that conversation.
Our humanity is not negotiable.
COPAL — Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina
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About COPAL
COPAL Minnesota is a member-based organization driven to improve the quality of life for Minnesota’s Latine communities. For more information, please visit www.copalmn.org.
