My mom brought me to America when I was six years old. We found safety, opportunity, and the life we dreamed of.

We needed food stamps and heat vouchers at first. My mom sewed clothes and ran a shop in immigrant Northeast Minneapolis to save enough to buy a house. We lost that home when the Recession hit.

To take financial pressure off my mom, I left for college at 16, graduated from the University of Minnesota at 19, and launched the first of several businesses, a multimedia production company.

I own a range of businesses, from multimedia production to commodities exporting. Right now, I am expanding my cotton exporting business, helping American farmers export their goods directly to spinning mills overseas. (more)

But business has always been a means to an end. When Donald Trump was elected the first time on an anti-immigrant platform, my multimedia company pivoted hard to support pro-immigrant and pro-democracy campaigns.

I currently lead digital for the largest democracy coalition in America.

When the world plunged into crisis in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and societal collapse in Latin America, I sprung into action.

I spent from my business earnings to rescue and resettle thousands of families from Ukraine and Latin America, through legal pathways. Most of my families were resettled in Minnesota, where neighbors, employers, and landlords welcome them with open arms. (Star Tribune)

Since the second Trump election, my families have lived in constant fear. I made a promise to protect them, and have ensured they are safe and sustained.

When I learned that my own Representative is one of the most powerful anti-immigrant voices in Congress, I knew my duty isn’t over until she is voted out of office.

Afton, Arden Hills, Bayport, Birchwood Village, Blaine (portion), Dellwood, Falcon Heights, Gem Lake, Grant, Lake Elmo, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, Lake St. Croix Beach, Landfall, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Mahtomedi, Maplewood, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, North St. Paul, Oakdale, Oak Park Heights, Pine Springs, Roseville, Saint Paul, Shoreview, Spring Lake Park (portion), St. Marys Point, Stillwater, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake, Willernie, Woodbury (portion), Baytown Township, Stillwater Township, West Lakeland Township, and White Bear Township.

The bill creates at least three mass concentration “campuses” where anyone seeking asylum must be detained for months on end. (Section 1501)

CBP has full power in running these camps, with ICE as second in command. (Sec 1501.k.1)

CBP’s parent department, DHS, has exclusive oversight authority. (Sec. 1501.k.2.c)

They themselves decide if they are providing “sufficient” medical care, hygiene products, legal access, living space, and more. (Sec. 1501.c)

Against human rights norms, all those imprisoned are subject to DNA testing. (Sec. 1307)

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This law is written by a Trump-fanatic MAGA Congresswoman Maria Salazar from Florida, who made headlines around the world for saying her state’s Alligator Alcatraz “met the highest standards.” 

Amnesty International reported human beings crammed into cages, maggot-infested food, overflowing toilets with cameras above them, 24-hour lighting preventing sleep, denied communication with lawyers and families — a facility “designed to dehumanize and punish those detained there.”

The bill creates “a trust fund” to “carry out” all parts of HR 4393. (Section 1204) Rep. Maria Salazar’s office claims there will be at least $50 billion in this fund. (source) An additional $10 billion is guaranteed to enforcement. (Sec. 1203)

This law does not set limits either for how much can be in the fund, or how much can be spent from the fund, giving ICE and CBP a massive, legally unlimited slush fund. 

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Betty McCollum agreed to give this funding while ICE and CBP were actively attacking Minnesota, just days after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were executed in broad daylight.

This bill allows ICE and CBP to give themselves “prior approval” to enter into the following protected spaces, without any warrant from a judge:

• any school
• any hospital
• any medical facility
• any mental health facility
• any other health care facility
• any place of worship
• any place where “children gather”
• any place “providing social services”
• any place “providing disaster or emergency assistance or relief”
• any funeral
• any burial
• any wedding
• any religious ceremonies
• any parade
• any demonstration
• any rally
• any courthouse

Prior approval is not even required if under “exigent circumstances.”

(Section 1121)

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This is especially painful to the thousands of Minnesotans who spent days and nights guarding schools, daycares, and other protected spaces, and had the law on their side. Betty McCollum agreed to legalize attacks everywhere.

In the new concentration camps, “a panel of two asylum officers” are give the power to deny any asylum case, instead of an immigration court. Appeals are also handled by two agents. (Section 1502)

The bill creates a two month timeline, but with current backlog in immigrations courts being approximate 3.5 years (source), this two-agent system is essentially a death sentence to due process for legitimate asylum seekers.

Anyone trying to reapply for asylum is subject to 10 years in prison. (Sec. 1304.a.1)

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My refugees are here legally, but many of them face changing and expiring statuses. The vast majority of them qualify for asylum, but because of this bill, my refugees will become undocumented and hunted by a supercharged ICE and CBP, who have $60 billion more in funding thanks to sponsorship by Betty McCollum.

This bill gives DHS — the parent department to ICE and CPB — “the authority to waive all legal requirements” to deploy “the most practical and effective physical barriers and tactical infrastructure” and “unmanned aircraft systems” along the U.S Border. (Section 1111)

Funding comes from the uncapped “Immigration Infrastructure and Debt Reduction Fund,” (Sec. 1204) as well as another guaranteed $10 billion (Sec. 1203).

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This is Trump’s border wall, and Betty agreed to build it when she became the most senior member of Congress — Democrat or Republican — to sign on as a sponsor to the bill.

H.R. 4393 is written by Trump-fanatic MAGA Congresswoman from Florida, Maria Salazar, who made headlines for claiming her state’s Alligator Alcatraz “met the highest standards.”

Amnesty International reported human beings crammed into cages, maggot-infested food, overflowing toilets with cameras above them, 24-hour lighting preventing sleep, denied communication with lawyers and families — a facility “designed to dehumanize and punish those detained there.”

Before Betty signed on, less than 10% of Congress sponsored this bill. They crucially lacked a prominent Democratic supporter.

Betty McCollum has spent 25 years in Congress, taking over $6 million dollars from PACs. She is the Democratic head of the subcommittee that authorizes all military spending. She is one of the most senior Democrats in all of Washington, D.C.

When Betty signed on to sponsor this MAGA-written immigration bill, it was the victory that Rep. Maria Salazar was praying for. Betty became the most powerful member of Congress — Democrat or Republican — to sign on for this law. She legitimized a fringe effort into a serious law that can realistically pass.

You voting for me and helping me win the August 11 primary will do half the work here.

The conservative Democrats and swing-district Republicans who are sponsoring this bill alongside Betty will see that they can lose their seat because of this and back away.

I’ll follow up and make sure this bill dies in committee.

I am the only candidate in the country calling for DAY ONE Congressional investigation of ICE and the Metro Surge attack.

“Day One” here means January 3, 2027, when the next Congress begins their session. Why is this important? Because Democrats in Congress are extremely bad at moving fast, as exemplified by their failure to prosecute the January 6 attacks.

If you elect me on August 11, then on August 12 I will form (1) the team of legal experts and (2) the coalition of affected Congressmembers needed to launch a “Select Committee” when January 3 arrives.

The goal of the Select Committee will be to bring so much evidence of intentional misconduct forward that ICE effectively loses its “qualified immunity” and an avalanche of lawsuits starts up in Minnesota and nationwide.

ICE will effectively become bankrupt by the lawsuits, unleashed by Congressional evidence.

Bankrupting ICE through prosecution isn’t enough — an agency like this simply cannot be allowed to exist in our government.

ICE was created in 2003 by Congress. ICE can be broken apart by Congress. But that will only happen if there’s a Congressmember willing to lead the charge — that’s me.

What does “breaking ICE” look like? It means taking the two core responsibilities of ICE and giving them to much better-suited, better trained, and better supervised departments.

The two core responsibilities currently given to ICE are “Enforcement and Removal Operations” (ERO) and “Homeland Security Investigations” (HSI). In my plan, ERO will be handled by the US Marshals, and HSI will be absorbed by the FBI.

ICE will no longer exist. There will be a lot more to be done (written out below) but this is the start.

I will lead the creation and passage of the GOOD-PRETTI Act. The act, to be drafted in collaboration with experts and other lawmakers, and will cover the following: 

• remove qualified immunity for cases of excessive or lethal force;
• the right to record any public federal enforcement action;
• the right to medically support anyone in distress during a federal immigration enforcement action;
• the right of the public to receive footage from bodycameras within 72 hours of any firearm discharge in a federal immigration enforcement action;
• ban the use of unmarked vehicles;
• ban masks;
• require ID numbers; 
• require coordination and authorization from local law enforcement;
• raise the legal standard from “reasonable” force to “necessary” force;
• ban firing into moving vehicles;
• ban deployment of chemical agents against protestors.

This Act will reflect the demands of the people of Minnesota, who will not let Renee and Alex’s courage and sacrifice be forgotten.

Democrats haven’t had a plan for immigration since 1990 — that’s 36 years of Republicans setting the tone and making the rules on this vital system. They have taken this opportunity to militarize enforcement and criminalize immigration.

This reform plan will be a massive undertaking, because we have to undo these 36 years of damage. But the work must start now — and with my depth of experience in resettling refugees and asylum seekers, I am able and beyond willing to lead it. 

Stopping H.R. 4393 and prosecuting-then-breaking ICE will create opportunities to reclaim tens of billions of dollars into the federal budget. I will lead the charge on channeling these tens of billions towards pro-affordability federal programs. 

Some of the programs that I value most and will advocate for funding:

• the FHA loan program so Americans can afford to buy homes;
• the Section 8 voucher program;
• Medicare Part D;
• the Child Tax Credit;
• Head Start;
• SNAP and WIC.

New programs and laws will need to be added to address the skyrocketing cost of living, but these reclaimed billions should be immediately channeled into pro-American programs, not tax breaks for billionaires.

In the 25 years that Betty McCollum has held the seat for Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District, we have fallen significantly behind in receiving federal contract opportunities.

Why does this matter? Because we as Minnesota taxpayers are already paying far, far more into the federal government than we are getting back — federal contracts are one of the most powerful ways to balance what we give to Washington with what we get back. 

I will establish the first Federal Contract Support Office in our district, so that small businesses in Minnesota’s Fourth will finally be able to catch up to our peers in the West Metro and elsewhere, who we are trailing by up to a billion dollars per year. (source)