Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig says she regrets her support for a bill pushed by the Trump administration last year that mandated the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for certain crimes.

Craig’s change in position on the Laken Riley Act, outlined in an op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune published Monday, comes in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s weekslong Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, which sent thousands of federal immigration agents into the state. Two Minnesotans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal agents during the surge.

Craig said Trump’s immigration crackdown on Minnesota made her “question whether I made the right call last year.”

“It is true that the president is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it’s also become clear that supporting any bill that gives (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) new authority in this administration was the wrong decision,” Craig wrote. ”And I regret my vote.”

Craig’s change of heart also comes in the midst of a heated contest for U.S. Senate, where her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, has repeatedly attacked her for her past support of the Laken Riley Act.

Craig has taken more conservative positions on immigration as a Democrat representing the Second District, which has historically been a swing seat. She was the only one of Minnesota’s six Democrats in Congress to support the Laken Riley Act last year. All of Minnesota’s four Republicans in Congress supported the bill.

But for weeks, as the immigration surge dominated state and national headlines, Craig has avoided directly saying whether she regrets voting for the bill.

“You asked about the vote and whether I would have voted differently today. You know, the bill is now law,” Craig said about her vote for the Laken Riley Act during an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune in early January.

At the time, the congresswoman also avoided saying whether she regretted voting for a subsequent resolution that praised ICE agents, another measure Flanagan has attacked her on.

In her op-ed, Craig said she “never thought the Laken Riley Act was a perfect bill.” It allows for detention of undocumented immigrants for certain violent as well as nonviolent offenses, such as burglary, shoplifting, or assault on law enforcement.

Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was murdered in 2024 by an undocumented immigrant who had previously been arrested for shoplifting.

But Craig noted that the bill did not include the word “deportation” in it. Craig has said that Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not use the Laken Riley Act to carry out Operation Metro Surge.

In recent weeks, Craig has visited the Whipple Federal Building where ICE detainees are held. She’s also called for Noem to be impeached and voted against further funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

“These past few months — and that regret — have only strengthened my resolve to stand up to the Trump administration’s cruel immigration policies, call out my spineless Republican colleagues and impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem," Craig continued in her op-ed.

It’s unclear how Craig’s move will impact her support in what’s become a contentious primary with Flanagan. Some progressives had expressed concern over her past vote and believed it would hurt her in the primary.

“Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote with Donald Trump to empower ICE and stood by that vote for over a year,” Flanagan said in a statement in response to Craig’s op-ed. “No amount of regret can reunite families, save children from indefinite detention, or make our communities whole again.”

Craig’s announcement comes as some other Democrats who supported the Laken Riley Act have distanced themselves from their vote in recent months.

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