Mike Lawler urges Congress to devise ‘path to legal status’ for illegal immigrants post Minnesota unrest

Published January 27, 2026 11:19am ET



Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is calling on President Donald Trump and Congress to work together and change immigration policies after the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of immigration officers in Minneapolis this month, urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to “reassess their current tactics.”

In an op-ed to the New York Times, the centrist congressman wrote that after tensions raised by Minnesota have calmed, Congress should devise a “realistic plan” to provide a “path to legal status — not citizenship — for long-term illegal immigrants without criminal records.”

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