2014 MN Senate debate: on Immigration

Jim Abeler: Protect the borders; prevent illegal entry

Abeler: Strongly Agree

Al Franken: Apologize for stripping citizenship for marrying foreigners

In 1907, during the rush of European immigration to the US, Congress stripped citizenship from any American woman who married a foreigner. The little-known Expatriation Act stayed on the books until 1940.

Franken would like the Senate to offer, through legislation, its sympathy and regret for passing a law "antithetical to the core principle that all persons, regardless of gender, race, religion, or ethnicity, are created equal."

Franken's office first learned of this blemish in US history from a constituent who was seeking posthumous citizenship for his grandmother. She lost hers when she married a Swedish man in 1914. Franken couldn't accomplish that, so is seeking an official apology as the next best thing.

The Senate doesn't make a habit of seeking absolution, but this would not be the first time it's formally recognized mistakes from America's past.

Mike McFadden: Secure the borders, then conditional path to citizenship

He spoke admiringly of the work Sens. Bob Corker (R,TN) and John Hoeven (R, ND) on immigration. "There is a group of senators that have led, taken a lot of arrows for leading, but they have led. They've come forward with a bill that is not perfect but they acknowledge that we have to address this," he said.

Mike McFadden: Secure the borders & then find way to grant citizenship

"As Republicans, we need to get our arms around this," McFadden said. He said he wants to see "outreach to the Hispanic community, because if they're not already Republicans they have the potential to be great Republicans because they have strong family values, they're entrepreneurial, they work hard, they're industrious. We need to appeal to them."

Mike McFadden: Status quo is not acceptable; we need to find a solution

A: First of all, the status quo is not acceptable, having 11 million illegal immigrants in this country is de facto amnesty, and that doesn't work, so we need to find a solution. I applaud members of the Senate for trying to find that solution. The solution needs to begin with securing the borders, it needs to stop further illegal immigration, so that's my first principle. My second principle is: We need something that addresses the 21st century and our economic needs in this country. The fact that we're educating PhDs in math and hard sciences and not allowing them to stay in this country when they're needed, does not make economic sense. We need to address that. I'm still reviewing the Senate bill. I look forward to seeing what comes out of the House.