Five candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District on Aug. 11, which includes Minneapolis and its surrounding areas. This primary will be the first since Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota between December 2025 and February 2026.
Three of those candidates lead in media attention: incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), Julie Le (D), and Latonya Reeves (D). All three have also completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
While the candidates wrote about multiple topics, the starkest difference in their responses was on immigration between Omar and Le. Omar, who is the Deputy Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, supported abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Le, an attorney and former federal prosecutor who was an Assistant Chief Counsel at Homeland Security and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney during Operation Metro Surge, wrote that she supports reforming the immigration system.
Omar wrote: “We must abolish ICE. Minnesotans saw firsthand what a tyrant in the White House can do with an unaccountable paramilitary force. Masked agents roamed our streets, kidnapped our neighbors, and killed American citizens who were exercising their constitutional rights. …There is no reforming an agency that will ignore the Constitution and kill Americans and prevent any meaningful investigation into their deaths.”
Le wrote, "I've seen the shortcomings of our immigration system from the inside. I've stood in courtrooms and navigated the bureaucratic red tape that hinders dedicated officers and leaves families in uncertainty. ... We need a leader who not only understands the law but knows how to reform it so it works for everyone."
Reeves, a probation officer, union president, and Democratic National Committee member, did not directly mention immigration in her survey, but does on her campaign website. On ICE, Reeves' campaign website says, "We must work to hold federal agents accountable, and trim their budget back to previous levels."
Abena McKenzie (D) and Nate Schluter (D) are also running. McKenzie also completed our Candidate Connection Survey.
