Another state may be closer to providing illegal immigrants a green light to drive. If the “Driver’s License For All” bill is passed in Minnesota, the North Star State will join 18 others that already allow the undocumented to have the privilege that used to belong to legal residents only. Advocates for illegal aliens want this measure to be passed within the first 45 days of the 2023 legislative session.
The local government has been trying to get a bill for aliens for more than a decade but to no avail. Now, however, the state is Democrat-controlled and is in a hurry to get as much of the progressive agenda passed as possible. Francisco Segovia, executive director of Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina, an organization that supports and fights for Latino rights, said, “We have a new opportunity. We have new political power, so we have to take advantage of this time."
Illegal Aliens Legally on the Road
Claudia Lainez, a coordinator for the center, claims that everyone is in danger when illegal aliens can’t get driver’s licenses, but stressed the chances of being deported if caught driving without one. She told the StarTribune via an interpreter that "Some people that dare to drive without driver's licenses, in many cases, they ended up separated from their families because they end up in deportation.” Some might argue that similar repercussions are distributed to legal citizens, those who “dare to drive without driver’s licenses,” only instead of deportation, they may end up behind bars, depending on the circumstances.
Executive Director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Veena Iyer, said such a move would make the roads safer:
"Immigrant moms, dads, sisters, brothers — people who have been living and working in our community for such a long time — are subject to potentially being pulled over and put in jail, various fines, potentially reported to ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] for doing nothing less than driving to work, driving their kids to school.”
The Freedom to Drive website claims that, if passed, such licenses would not qualify for Real ID:
“Standard driver’s licenses would be distinctively marked as required under federal law and would not be valid for REAL ID purposes. Issuing these licenses would not only benefit Minnesotans without access to an immigration process, but also those experiencing homelessness, the elderly, and other groups who may have difficulty obtaining hard-to-access documentation.”
How will these new licenses, if approved, benefit the state, considering there are more than 80,000 undocumented people in Minnesota? There are suggestions of making the documents a driver’s license only, not to be used for ID or any other rights or privileges, but there are those who say this might ostracize the migrants. Although many states who have provided driving certificates to illegal aliens claim vehicle accidents such as hit and runs have decreased, the big question that comes into play is state and national security, and how this could weaken it further than what it already has been. As Liberty Nation Political Columnist Joe Schaeffer pointed out from the 9/11 Commission report:
“All but one of the 9/11 hijackers acquired some form of U.S. identification document, some by fraud. Acquisition of these forms of identification would have assisted them in boarding commercial flights, renting cars, and other necessary activities.”
It doesn’t help matters that President Joe Biden pulled air marshals from flights so that less than 1% of planes have security on board. There are those that argue granting illegal aliens documentation such as a driver’s license, is a concern for the safety and security of Americans, making it easier for migrants to gain access to other protected rights, such as voting.
