Essay
Senator Benny Kimber
General Legislation Committee
Model Legislature 2026 Session
17 November 2025
SF 3525 Pro/Con Essay
SF 3525 is a resolution that reinforces and justifies the State of Minnesota as a safe-haven for any and all immigrants, while also condemning the acts of the federal government and President Donald Trump. It is of the utmost importance to protect all people in this country, and with the recent attacks on immigrants from the federal government, we must strengthen our defenses to protect them. It is essential that everyone is provided with a place where they can live their lives with freedom without the fear of being taken away and illegally deported by the very people sworn to protect them. Inherent and unalienable equality in freedom is the most important ideology to this nation, and this idea must remain upheld and kept in our work and our lives. Renee Nicole Good was a “gentle, kind and openhearted” member of her community, and was sadly and inhumanely murdered by Trump’s ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) agents [1]. The current mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, said in a speech that “. . .the self-defense argument [condoning the murder of Renee Nicole Good] is ‘garbage.’” [1]. Shortly after her death, a man from Minneapolis named Alex Pretti was publicly shot by ICE agents during a protest and quickly died from his injuries [2]. With this evidence, it should be abundantly clear that ICE must be removed from the state and charged for their many crimes against the public. ICE has proved many times that they are willing to use lethal force against peaceful protestors and innocent citizens, so the responsibility now falls on us as lawmakers to defend and protect our people, the very people we are sworn to protect at all times.
We must accept the disappointing reality that this bill may not fully achieve its goal or even do the opposite, setting Minnesota as a target of further ICE attacks from the Federal Government. The current president, Donald Trump, has proven in his many months in office that he is willing to act rashly and on impulse, similar to his actions in Venezuela and his hasty defamating remarks on live national television. Therefore, sending an order to his desk could very well result in him taking further action to attack this state and its citizens. Minnesota is already a primary target of President Trump due to our abundant population of immigrants from many ethnic backgrounds, and we need to ensure the safety of our citizens by guaranteeing that the attacks do not increase in frequency or intensity. We need to show that we fully denounce the actions of president Trump and that we want illegal ICE agents out of our state immediately and entirely. After Governor Tim Walz deployed the Minnesota National Guard to halt the ICE forces, we saw progress for the first time in a while. Many other states are already taking action to remove ICE and hold federal officials accountable for their treasonous actions, but we can not stop [3]. We need to continue to take action to save our state, our country, our people, and our values of freedom and democracy.
Works Cited:
[1] Biesecker, M., Mustian, J., Dell’Orto, G.. “Family and neighbors mourn woman who was shot by ICE agent and made Minneapolis home.” Associated Press, 08 Jan. 2026.
[2] Santana, Rebecca. “What we know about the investigations into the Minneapolis shooting death of Alex Pretti.” Associated Press, 26 Jan. 2026.
[3] Chen, David. “As Minneapolis Rages, Legislators Move to Restrict ICE in Their States.” The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026.