News > Immigration In Minnesota
Call Your Minnesota Legislators Now!
Posted on May 04 2021
The Minnesota legislature has adjourned without taking action on most items—including some very important to immigrants. They will return for a special session in June. You can make a difference by calling your Minnesota legislators to support:
- Driver’s Licenses For All
- Certification for Victims of Crimes
- Changing Gross Misdemeanor Sentencing
- Eliminating Two-Year Deadline for Post-Conviction Relief
You can contact your legislator directly to ask that they support this important legislation during negotiations leading up to the special session. If you know someone whose Representative or Senator is on the conference committee, ask them to contact that legislator directly. Here are the conference committee members and their districts:
Transportation Finance and Policy Conference Committee
(Driver’s Licenses For All)
Chairs: Representative Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis-61A) and Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson-18)
Conference Committee Members:
- Representative Erin Koegel (DFL-Spring Lake Park-37A)
- Representative Luke Frederick (DFL-Mankato-19B)
- Representative Steve Elkins (DFL-Bloomington-49B)
- Representative John Petersburg (R-Waseca-24A)
- Senator John Jasinksi (R-Faribault-24)
- Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville-13)
- Senator David Osmek (R-Mound-33)
- Senator Karla Bigham (DFL-Cottage Grove-54).
Judiciary and Public Safety Policy and Finance Conference Committee
(Certification for Victims of Crimes and Changes to Gross Misdemeanor Sentencing and Eliminating Two-Year Deadline for Post-Conviction Relief)
Chairs: Representative Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul) and Senator Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove-34)
Conference Committee Members:
- Representative Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL-Roseville-42B)
- Representative Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview-42A)
- Representative Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope-45A)
- Representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg-17A)
- Senator Andrew Mathews (R-Princeton-15)
- Senator Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks-1)
- Senator Bill Ingebrigsten (R-Alexandria-8)
- Senator Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park-46)
In brief, this is why ILCM supports each of these provisions:
Driver’s Licenses For All
Right now in Minnesota, only individuals who pass the driver’s test and prove legal immigration status are allowed to receive a driver’s license. That means undocumented immigrants do not have safe, legal access to our shared roads. Currently, sixteen states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico allow undocumented immigrants access to driver’s licenses. Driver’s licenses for all are essential for farm workers who are needed in Minnesota’s rural economy and parents who need to take their children to medical appointments or school activities. Driver’s license for all would make roads safer for everyone by providing a strong incentive to improve driving skills, pass licensing tests, and maintain insurance.
Certification for Victims of Crimes
Congress enacted U visa legislation to improve safety within our communities by encouraging the victim’s cooperation with law enforcement and providing immigration protection to the victim and their children. This legislation would provide greater efficiency in the first step of the process: gaining U visa certification. The legislation will help law enforcement as well as crime victims by establishing a statewide, standard certification process for the U visa.
Changing Gross Misdemeanor Sentencing
Currently, Minnesota law authorizes a sentence of up to 365 days for gross misdemeanor convictions. HF 614 would amend Minnesota law to reduce this maximum sentence by only one day to 364 days for all Minnesotans. Federal immigration law does not honor Minnesota’s classifications, and instead treats a number of gross misdemeanor convictions as “aggravated felonies” simply because a sentence of 365 days—as opposed to 364 days—is imposed. This one day will make a profound difference by reasserting the state’s authority over the effect of a state gross misdemeanor sentence; promoting clarity and consistency in gross misdemeanor sentencing; and freeing up criminal justice system resources.
Eliminating Two-Year Deadline for Post-Conviction Relief
Older convictions can haunt noncitizens and result in deportation, even if the crime was not a deportable offense at the time of conviction and even if the noncitizen was not advised of any potential immigration consequences at the time of the conviction.
Removing the two-year deadline on seeking post-conviction relief would help noncitizens who are placed in removal proceedings as a result of a conviction obtained by relying on incorrect advice or no advice regarding the immigration consequences of the conviction. A petitioner would still have to establish all of the substantive requirements for obtaining post-conviction relief.
For more detailed information, see ILCM’s public testimony on each of these bills: