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Esther Header

Dear Friends and Neighbors,  

Yesterday, Governor Walz, House Leadership, and Senate Leadership released an agreement on global targets for the 2025 legislative session. The agreement included cutting healthcare coverage for undocumented Minnesotan adults. I joined my fellow members of the House and Senate People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and other ally representatives outside the Governor’s Office to protest the budget deal reached by Governor Walz and legislative leaders [ [link removed] ].  I am deeply saddened and angry that this budget requires scapegoating a vulnerable group of people at a time when they continue to be targeted around the country. Healthcare is safety, healthcare is dignity, and a budget deal should do more to ensure that we do the least harm to those who are most at risk. 

I don't agree with this, and my colleagues and I are working to find other solutions to ensure that we create a budget deal for the state of Minnesota that uplifts the dignity of everyone in the state.  

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In negotiations, Republicans held the state budget hostage unless their demand to strip healthcare access for our undocumented neighbors was met. They focused on cruelty rather than on ensuring that people and businesses had the resources they needed to live their lives. They would risk a government shutdown, along with all the services Minnesotans rely on, just to harm our neighbors and families in order to follow Trump’s lead in his racist and xenophobic attacks on immigrant communities. You may hear that this is necessary because of a looming budget crisis, but cutting healthcare in this way is not fiscally responsible.  

It is not low-income immigrants who are to blame for our current budget situation, it is the wealthy millionaires and corporations who refuse to pay their fair share, including the for-profit healthcare system that is already broken and will only get worse because of this policy that will lead to more emergency room visits and uncompensated care. This is not “free healthcare,” as some have said. Undocumented immigrants in Minnesota pay more than $220 million in taxes per year, and they will pay premiums and copays, just like everyone else. Though the enrollment in this program is higher than expected, it shows that demand for healthcare access is greater than anticipated. Yet, the costs through the first four months are lower than forecasted.  

The compromise reached by legislative leaders would strip MinnesotaCare [ [link removed] ], a health care program for Minnesotans with low incomes, of undocumented adults, while leaving children still eligible.  

Let me be clear: *I will not vote for a bill that strips healthcare access away from anyone*.  Without access to preventative healthcare, people are forced to use emergency rooms as their primary care provider, overwhelming these critical facilities with cases that could have been addressed earlier, less expensively, and with better health outcomes.  

I was glad to join my colleagues in the POCI Caucus at our own press conference to correct the record from the Republican lies about MinnesotaCare coverage, stand up for our undocumented neighbors, and unequivocally say that we will do everything in our power to ensure this “deal” does not become law. You can watch the whole press conference here. [ [link removed] ] 

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As we enter these final days of the legislative session, I’m working with our incredible POCI leadership and other allies both inside and outside the legislature to apply pressure and ensure we turn back from the current course extreme Republicans have put us on. 

*We'll continue to fight to ensure our communities' voices and stories are heard and reflected in legislative decisions as we work to establish a balanced budget that leaves no community behind.* 

Thank you to everyone from District 59B who has made your voice heard already, and please continue to speak up and speak out!  

Watch my short reel explaining my position on protecting MinnesotaCare here [ [link removed] ].  

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*Let’s Stay Connected!*  

I deeply value being in this work to improve lives with you. Please continue to reach out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you. Please reach out anytime if you need assistance, schedule a meeting or community event, or have questions at [email protected] or 651-296-8659.

In community, 

Rep. Esther Agbaje 

Minnesota House of Representatives (59B) 

*Legislative Assistant* 

Nhia Chang

[email protected]

651-296-4165

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