Paulsen Says He's Rallying For DACA Recipients, Won't Be At Trump Rally

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Erik Paulsen, the republican representative of Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, is speaking out on the day President Donald Trump brings a campaign-style rally to Duluth.

On Wednesday, Paulsen released a statement saying, rather than being in Duluth, he's in Washington D.C. supporting young DACA recipients.

"I'm rallying in Washington today to get votes on legislation that ends the unconscionable practice of separating kids from their parents at the border and gives certainty to young DACA recipients," Paulsen said. "That's our job, and that's what Minnesotans sent me here to do."

Paulsen said he signed the discharge petition to force the debate in Congress – over the objection of many in his own party.

"But this debate is more important than party, it's about the security of our nation and about who we are as a people. The DACA kids and the children being taken from their parents at the border deserve the compassion that has made our nation a shining city on a hill for generations of immigrants," Paulsen said.

Trump did address the issue Wednesday, saying he'll sign something "in a little while" to address the spike in the number of migrant children being separated from their families at the border.

Trump is in Duluth to rally for Pete Stauber, a Republican congressional candidate running in a traditionally Democratic district. It's important ground for Trump as a place where his new tariffs on foreign steel could play especially well.

Follow WCCO-TV and WCCO.com for the latest on the rally Wednesday.