Willmar forum on the candidates

Issues of immigration came to the front at a candidate forum with DFL Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson and Republican challenger Joe Gimse who are running for Senate District 13 seat as well as Incumbent Representative Al Juhnke and Republican challenger Bonnie Wilhelm for House seat 13B at Ridgewater College.

After talking about education and funding college for students questions turned immigration.

Wilhelm wants to institute a program similar to what Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer proposed last year requiring voters to show proof of citizenship.

Johnson said, “Immigrants are an essential part of our community look at where we came from.”

A student in the audience said that he thought that the candidates should be more worried about legal immigrants than illegal ones pointing out that the terrorists involved in 9/11 were all legal immigrants.

Willmar is in West Central Minnesota and immigration is a very sensitive subject. There is a large immigrant population, with nearly 13% being Hispanic or Latino in the 2000 census. There have been tensions over the increasing population in the past 15 years and a focus on immigration issues was not surprising at the forum.