{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://emmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/icymi-emmer-authors-op-ed-in-support-of-minnesota-s-law-enforcement-officers", "ICYMI: Emmer Authors Op-Ed in support of Minnesota\u2019s law enforcement officers", "2024-06-03", "2024", "2024-06", "Republican", "House", "MN", "Tom Emmer", "E000294", "emmer.house.gov", "emmer", "https://emmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Representative Tom Emmer (MN-06) authored an opinion piece, that was recently published in the Delano Herald Journal, entitled \u201cSupporting our law enforcement\u201d following his recent roundtable discussion with Sixth District law enforcement officials during National Police Week.\n\n\u201cNational Police Week is celebrated every year in May. While we have this dedicated week for our men and women in blue, each day is an opportunity to address the challenges law enforcement face and where gaps can be filled.\n\nWe recently invited every sheriff and police chief in Minnesota\u2019s Sixth Congressional District for a roundtable chat at the Wright County Law Enforcement Center. A dozen members of law enforcement attended, from Ramsey to Chaska, from St. Cloud to Howard Lake, and shared what\u2019s working, what isn\u2019t, and their ideas for solutions.\n\nFor me and our staff, it was an opportunity to listen and devise a plan of legislative action.\n\nIllegal immigration, and its side effects, were a main topic of discussion. As a result of President Biden\u2019s handling of the border, millions of illegal immigrants have entered our country, along with thousands of pounds of fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration took more than 2.5 million lethal doses of fentanyl off Minnesota streets in 2023 alone.\n\nWright County Sheriff Sean Deringer has seen the effects of the Biden border crisis firsthand. The sheriff described fentanyl overdoses as \u201coff-the-charts,\u201d and mentioned that their county medical examiner has weekly cases which involve either accidental overdoses or suicide overdoses.\n\nIn 2022, nearly all of our state\u2019s synthetic opioid-related deaths involved fentanyl.\n\nWhen I asked the panel where the fentanyl was coming from, St. Cloud Chief of Police Jeff Oxton responded, \u201cIt\u2019s all coming from Mexico.\u201d\n\nCities like St. Cloud are becoming border cities despite being over 1,500 miles away from the Texas-Mexico border.\n\nClosing the border and enforcing our laws is step one. At the same time, we can enact legislation like the HALT Fentanyl Act, nonpartisan legislation that passed the US House of Representatives more than a year ago, to permanently make fentanyl a Schedule I drug, giving law enforcement more tools to keep this deadly drug off the streets. Unfortunately, the Senate is refusing to pass this bill.\n\nDuring our conversation, Sheriff Deringer also spoke about the rise in retail crime, theft, and fraud related to the influx of illegal immigration. He said, \u201cthe uncooperative spirit of those that we are arresting, it\u2019s like they\u2019re being coached, they\u2019re being manipulated, they\u2019re being taught the ins and the outs of the criminal element.\u201d These are the real consequences of the border crisis.\n\nPeace officers are also continuing to deal with the harmful \u201cdefund the police\u201d movement, targeted attacks, and staffing shortages. The demanding nature of the job, combined with increased public hostility, makes it difficult to attract and retain talented individuals.\n\nIn 2023, it was reported that more than half of Minnesota police departments were facing staffing shortages. To make matters worse, police departments in the same region are often competing to fill open positions.\n\nAttendees at the roundtable highlighted numerous policy ideas that could be implemented locally, statewide, or federally to attract the next generation of law enforcement. Policies that could protect themselves on the street, enhance their well-being, and support their families.\n\nTake the success of the Community OutPost (COP House) in St. Cloud, for example. The COP House is run by the St. Cloud Police Department and connects local officers with kids and families through community service events and extracurricular activities.\n\nFostering relationships between law enforcement and families helps reduce division and create a welcoming, safer community. We are proud to work with local partners to champion this program at the federal level.\n\nSherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott brought up the importance of supporting funding for internal wellness programs for law enforcement. I couldn\u2019t agree more.\n\nThe stress and psychological impact of seeing so many fellow officers being attacked and killed has a lasting impact on our peace officers. Studies have shown that law enforcement officers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression at levels twice as high as the average person.\n\nThat\u2019s why I am leading an effort in Congress to fund the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act Program. This nonpartisan program created in 2018 provides resources and grants for law enforcement agencies to develop internal mental health and peer monitoring programs, tools for suicide prevention, as well as support and resources for officer\u2019s families.\n\nIn 2023, this program provided more than $9 million in grants for local law enforcement agencies across the country, including a grant for the Anoka County Sheriff\u2019s Office.\n\nBy having an open dialogue of ideas, more solutions like this will come to the surface. Our law enforcement officers deserve our unwavering support, respect, and appreciation for the work they do, and I won\u2019t stop advocating for them in Congress.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:11:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://emmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/icymi-emmer-authors-op-ed-in-support-of-minnesota-s-law-enforcement-officers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8764602243900299, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}