U.S. Rep. Angie Craig says 'I regret my vote' on last year's Laken Riley Act | kare11.com

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — U.S. Rep. Angie Craig said Monday that she regrets voting for one of President Trump's top immigration bills last year, known as the Laken Riley Act, which expanded Homeland Security requirements to detain undocumented immigrants arrested for certain nonviolent crimes like burglary and theft.

In an editorial published by The Minnesota Star Tribune, Craig said that "I never thought the Laken Riley Act was a perfect bill" but acknowledged she made a "difficult" decision to vote for it. Since Operation Metro Surge, immigration enforcement has emerged as a key issue in the race for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat, where Craig is competing against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the DFL nomination.

Craig was the only Democrat in Minnesota's Congressional delegation that voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act.

"As I stood side by side with protesters on the streets of Minneapolis and opposite dozens of armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Whipple Federal Building after Renee Good's killing — and again after the killing of Alex Pretti — I couldn't help but question whether I made the right call last year," Craig wrote. "It is true that the president is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it's also become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision. And I regret my vote."

Craig's stance outlined in The Minnesota Star Tribune is a change from even a few days ago. During an interview recorded Friday for KARE 11's weekend political show, "On the Record," Craig did not explicitly say that she regretted her vote on the Laken Riley Act and did not directly address whether she stood by the vote. In that same interview, however, she did suggest that "I wouldn't vote today for a single bill that gave Donald Trump and Kristi Noem's ICE any additional authority. Laken Riley would fall right in that bucket."

Craig has also noted her efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said that standing up to the Trump administration would continue to be a top priority, if elected to the U.S. Senate.

However, the Flanagan campaign has repeatedly highlighted Craig's vote on the Laken Riley Act.

"Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote with Donald Trump to empower ICE and stood by that vote for over a year," Flanagan said in a campaign statement on Monday. "No amount of regret can reunite families, save children from indefinite detention, or make our communities whole again."