MN House panel weighs driver's licenses for unauthorized immigrants

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY: In our top story, a Minnesota House Committee will hear a bill tomorrow that would allow undocumented Minnesotans to get a driver's license. Under the so-called Driver's License For All Bill the state's nearly 81,000 undocumented immigrants would be able to take a knowledge and driving test and then obtain a state-issued ID. Veena Iyer is on the line. She's the Executive Director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, one of the groups that has been pushing for this bill. Welcome to the program.

VEENA IYER: Thanks, Cathy.

CATHY: This bill has been circulating for, I think, more than a decade now. It was heard in the House last year, passed out of committee, but I recall, there wasn't a companion bill in the Senate. What's the history of this measure?

VEENA IYER: What's important for folks to know actually is that the long history of driver's licenses in Minnesota is that folks in Minnesota, regardless of immigration status, could get a driver's license up until 2003. So that was actually the long history. But it was only since 2003 that a requirement that someone have immigration status was imposed.

After that was implemented, advocates have been working tirelessly, both on the immigrant side, law enforcement, business in order to restore driver's licenses. There was an effort earlier this decade, 2013-2014 session, where the Senate passed it but the House didn't. Then in 2019, the House passed it on the floor but the Senate didn't. And so there's been multiple efforts to pass the bill, but it just hasn't been able to get across the finish line.

CATHY: As I mentioned, your organization's in favor of the bill, along with a host of other organizations, including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. What's the pitch for the bill?

VEENA IYER: It just makes sense from a safety perspective, from an economic perspective, and just a human perspective. On the safety front, Driver's Licenses For All makes Minnesota safer. It ensures that everyone who's on the road, who should be on the road, has a driver's license, can be identified by law enforcement if they are stopped, and has insurance.

On the economic side, the fact of the matter is, we have such a shortage of folks to work right now, and there are a number of folks, immigrants, who could get to go work if they just had a driver's license. And so just making them be able to get safely to work with the driver's license is really important.

Third, it's a human perspective, which is just that we have so many immigrants who are our neighbors, who are our friends, who are unable to, safely and without fear, take their kids to school, go to doctor's appointments, go to health care appointments. And enabling folks to get driver's licenses will really allow those families to be able to thrive more in our communities.

CATHY: Getting back to the safety issue, I believe there was a University of Minnesota study published, gosh, I think it was 2020, that found that two-thirds of undocumented Hispanic immigrants drove a car to work despite not having a driver's license. So that fits under the umbrella of public safety?

VEENA IYER: 100%. So we know that folks know how to drive. It's just getting them to have a license that confirms that they are able to drive, that they know the rules of the road. And this is what Driver's Licenses For All would do. We had it until 2003. It's just getting back to that.

CATHY: As you know, Republicans contend that the bill would grant undocumented immigrants special privileges and would incentivize illegal immigration. What's your response to that?

VEENA IYER: So first, really, the idea of not having driver's licenses for all is the exception, not the rule, based on our history. In addition, you look across the country and 18 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, allow driver's licenses regardless of immigration status.

Frankly, driver's licenses are about the ability to drive, the ability to get insurance. It's not about lawful status, and this bill restores us to that.

As far--

CATHY: Go ahead. No, no. Go ahead. Finish your thought.

VEENA IYER: Well, just, I think on the incentivizing undocumented immigration, the fact is that people don't come here in order to get a driver's license. There is a number of other reasons that are getting there. This is just dealing with the reality that we have millions of folks in this country, tens of thousands here in Minnesota, who are undocumented because the federal government fails to act.

But we can't just put our heads in the sand. We have to make sure that those folks can be a part of our community while they're here, and this does that.

CATHY: When folks go to vote, many people whip out their driver's licenses as they register to vote. And as you know, some Republicans are concerned that a driver's license could be used to illegally register to vote, Could these licenses be used to register to vote?

VEENA IYER: Well, first, I think it's important to note that the instances of immigrants who are registering to vote is very, very rare. Folks don't intentionally vote. Second of all, when you look at these licenses, right now, a license can be used as one form of ID that can be used on the day of in order to vote but it's not the only one. In fact, folks don't even actually need an ID. You can take your neighbor to go to vote. So I think that the problem is that this bill does not create an issue. It doesn't create any type of issue that doesn't exist.

CATHY: To get the bill to pass would you be willing to sign on to, I think-- I'm trying to think of his name. There was a Republican representative who noted, I think, back in 2019, that the license should have a "not for voting" notation to be printed on the front of the driver's license or ID. Would you go for that?

VEENA IYER: So I think that so I am not in the legislature. So I will not be making any decisions about what is or is not in the bill. I think what's important, there's two points to note here. One is that Minnesota already has three different types of driver's licenses. We have enhanced driver's licenses, real ID, and the standard driver's license, which is what we are advocating be restored to individuals.

There's just not a need for an additional driver's license here in Minnesota because those two other licenses already exist. In fact, the real ID driver's license, folks who are immigrants, who cannot vote, can get those licenses according to federal law. So I think it's really important to note that there's no need for that additional statement.

I think the other piece is that if that is included, it's just going to make it that much harder also for anybody who wants to get a class D driver's license to be able to get one. And there's a lot of us, including myself, who just have a standard driver's license. And it would be really problematic to add that marketing to those types of licenses.

CATHY: In about a minute left here, Veena, you had a great history of this measure early in our conversation. Gosh, in 2013, when this bill was introduced, Democrats controlled the House, the Senate, and the governor's office, but the House didn't pass the bill. Do you think the national conversation has changed this time around?

VEENA IYER: Yes. I think it is so critical right now for Minnesota, for our economy, to get this passed. I think it's a bill that supports the workforce. But I think also we have such a large and thriving immigrant community here today. Our census numbers show that, of course, the number of immigrants have increased. And it's just such a top priority for immigrant communities here in Minnesota and those who support them that I think that we are in an excellent position to get this passed. It's, frankly, a no-brainer. I do think it's an issue that has a lot of bipartisan support. And frankly, that we should get it done and go on to other issues that require more conversation.

CATHY: All right. Veena Iyer, thank you for the conversation.

VEENA IYER: Thanks so much, Cathy.

CATHY: Veena Iyer is the Executive Director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.