Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz largely stuck with his Democratic colleagues on immigration issues during his time in Congress, but his actions since then as Minnesota governor will sharpen the debate between the two presidential tickets when it comes to border security.

Walz signed legislation to extend health care and public insurance to undocumented immigrants as part of a budget agreement last year, making Minnesota one of two states with the policy.

Although other jurisdictions grant state health coverage to undocumented minors and certain adults, only Minnesota and California allow low-income people to enroll regardless of immigration status. The District of Columbia has a similar health care policy for undocumented immigrants.

Separately, Walz signed into law last year legislation granting the estimated 81,000 undocumented immigrants in Minnesota access to driver’s licenses, as well as a measure that would grant them access to free college tuition.

“Ensuring drivers in our state are licensed and carry insurance makes the roads safer for all Minnesotans,” Walz said at the time. “As a longtime supporter of this bill, I am proud to finally sign it into law, making our roads safer and moving us toward our goal of making Minnesota the best state to raise a family for everyone.”

The actions immediately opened him up to criticism from tough-on-immigration Republicans, who have made border security a top issue and have pivoted to blaming Vice President Kamala Harris for problems. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Harris’ selection of Walz as a running mate means the Democratic Party has the “most dangerous P/VP ticket ever.”

“She supports free health care to illegal immigrants,” Abbott posted on social media. “He signed laws giving state services to them. Both provide magnets for more illegal immigration.”

Walz, prior to Harris picking him as a running mate, said on CNN that Republicans would say what they want about Harris on immigration, but Democrats “just need to have good proposals.” During that July 30 appearance, Walz pointed to a Senate compromise bill as key to a Harris plan to stop illegal immigration and blamed former President Donald Trump for killing the legislation for political advantage.

“The Border Patrol agents endorsed it. These are folks who know what needs to be done, but he’s not interested in solving the problem,” Walz said. “What Democrats need to do is acknowledge, and he has ginned up fear, but our border can work better.”

He said Trump only talks about a border wall, an idea Walz has criticized for years, and suggested it could be defeated with ladders. “That’s not how you stop this,” Walz said.

“You stop this using electronics, you stop it using more border control agents, and you stop it by having a legal system that allows for that tradition of allowing folks to come here, just like my relatives did to come here, be able to work and establish the American dream,” Walz said. “He’s not interested in that. He wants to demonize.”

Prior actions

Years ago, Walz also suggested that Minnesota should become a sanctuary state, which would mean local law enforcement would not cooperate with federal immigration officials when having an undocumented immigrant in custody.

Minnesota is not a sanctuary state, although two counties, Hennepin and Ramsey, are sanctuary communities. “My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws,” Walz told CBS News in 2018.

“Here’s what I believe: Congress has given federal agencies the authority to enforce immigration laws in Minnesota, and I support their doing so,” he said. “Congress has not given local law enforcement that same authority. The role of law enforcement is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws, and I strongly believe that they should not do so.”

Immigration will likely be one of several issues in Walz’s background against which Republicans launch attacks. Among them is his being governor of Minnesota in 2020, when the state was ground zero for the riots in protest over the killing of George Floyd.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chided Harris on Twitter for selecting a running mate who he said reflects the true liberal values of the Democratic Party ticket, calling Walz “weird and dumb” in an attack line that echoes Democrats’ attack on Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.

“Not only did Governor Tim Walz sign legislation giving free college and free health care to illegal immigrants, but he sat on the sidelines and watched Minneapolis burn for four days straight,” Graham tweeted.

During his time as a member of Congress, Walz voted in favor of legislation that would have granted a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who seek college education or military service.

When Republicans were in the majority, Walz voted against legislation that would have prohibited the U.S. government from exempting immigrants without legal status from deferral for deportation.