Days into Minnesota’s 2026 legislative session, there are already signs that action on top issues at the Capitol faces questionable prospects in a closely divided state government. Republican proposals intended to combat fraud in state government and DFL-backed bills aimed at protecting residents from abuses by federal immigration officials already face headwinds in a year where lawmakers technically don’t have to pass any legislation. On Thursday and Wednesday, bills relating to both issues stalled after party-line votes in House committees, where control is evenly split between DFL and Republican representatives. Oversight office A proposal to create a new oversight office for state government agencies — something that passed last year with bipartisan support in the Minnesota Senate — stalled in the House State Government Finance Committee. Democrats had attempted to amend the bill to remove language that would have created an independent law enforcement division at the proposed Office of Inspector General. The effort failed on a party-line vote as Republicans objected to an overhaul of the bill. While Republicans have a slate of proposals aimed at fighting fraud, including creating criminal penalties for state employees who falsify paperwork during audits, the inspector general bill has the strongest bipartisan backing. It passed in the DFL-majority Senate last year, though it didn’t get a vote in the tied House, where bills need both parties’ support. Senate version But as of the first week of the 2026 session, the fraud measure with the strongest support is in no better shape to reach DFL Gov. Tim Walz’s desk than it was in May. Still, Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, who is carrying the Senate version with DFL Sen. Heather Gustafson of Vadnais Heights, told reporters Thursday that he remained optimistic, despite what he called House DFL efforts to “gut” the bill. “It’s stalled, but it’s not dead. We still have time in this legislative session, and as I’ve said before, I’m willing to roll up my sleeves and do work on this bill, and to do some common sense amendments to tweak it here, to tweak it there,” he said. “But we’re not going to move backwards.” House inspector general bill author Rep. Matt Norris, DFL-Blaine, said eliminating the independent law enforcement division from the inspector general would “avoid duplication of work” with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s financial crimes division. Immigration enforcement Just like fraud bills, any bills on federal immigration enforcement face dimmer prospects in the 67-67 House than they do in the Senate, where the DFL has 34 seats to the GOP’s 33. Meanwhile, a DFL-backed bill to ban warrantless entry of publicly accessible areas of schools by immigration agents stalled on a tied vote in the Education Policy Committee on Wednesday. That’s just one of the many proposals Democrats are advancing this session in the wake of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. “Operation Metro Surge” brought more than 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in what the White House claimed was an effort to arrest the “worst of the worst.” Critics said it led to the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens, major civil rights violations and abuse of power by militarized immigration agencies. To protect the state from similar abuses in the future, DFLers are introducing legislation, including a bill to give Minnesotans more power to sue federal agents for constitutional violations, a ban on face masks for law enforcement agents, and restrictions on immigration enforcement in spaces besides schools — such as hospitals. Local law enforcement Republicans have advocated for changing state law to compel local law enforcement to cooperate more closely with federal authorities, something they argue would eliminate the drive for immigration agents to operate near or in schools. One such proposal received a hearing in the House last year. The GOP-backed bill would ban cities from restricting cooperation with ICE and other federal agencies and require local authorities to notify federal authorities when a person unlawfully in the U.S. is arrested for a violent crime. Asked by reporters Thursday if he believed any of the DFL proposals on immigration had a chance of gaining Republican support in a closely divided Legislature, Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Chair Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, said the session was “just getting started.” “I personally haven’t had those conversations yet but I intend to, and I’ll tell you why: This isn’t a debate, in my mind, about immigration policy. This is a debate about enforcement tactics,” he said. “We should all be able to find common ground, that the Constitution needs to be followed, that there are certain boundaries across which we are not allowed to go.” State lawmakers passed a $66 billion two-year budget last year, meaning they could technically adjourn in May without passing any major legislation. That happened in 2022, another session with divided government ahead of a November gubernatorial election. Then, the DFL controlled the governor’s office and the House, but Republicans controlled the Senate. Related Articles Minnesota Capitol rally calls for state aid following immigration crackdown Data center foes bring swelling opposition to Minnesota Capitol No ‘masked secret agents,’ St. Paul City Council says in passing ordinance MN 2026 Legislature: How can you follow activity or even get involved? MN lawmakers honor Melissa and Mark Hortman on first day of session ...read more read less