News > Immigration In Minnesota
HF 1732 “REAL ID” Bill
Posted on Jun 20 2016
Strong public safety reasons support creating a license for immigrants
ILCM worked with many elected officials, allies, partners, and other leaders to create a two-tiered REAL ID compliant system in Minnesota in 2016. First-tier licenses would be compliant with all federal purposes, such as boarding an aircraft and gaining entrance into federal facilities. The second-tier license, as contemplated in the federal REAL ID act, allows for a state to create a “state-only” license for those who do not wish to share their personal data with the federal government, those that do not intend to use it to board aircraft, and for the state to license all immigrant drivers.
During the 2016 session, we successfully repealed the 2009 state prohibition on REAL ID planning and passed the two-tier system in the Senate. Unfortunately, the House legislation specifically included statutory language to prohibit undocumented Minnesotans from obtaining a driver’s licenses in the future. This would have codified the prohibition in statute for the first time in Minnesota history, leading to a conflict with the Senate and the Governor’s office.
While REAL ID stalled on the last day of the 2016 session, it is important that the process to obtain drivers licenses for all immigrants did not take a step backwards during this process. Strong public safety reasons support creating a license for immigrants to allow them to pass driving tests and obtain auto insurance. There is still time for Minnesota to resolve REAL ID, as Homeland Security has granted a continuing extension of current licenses for boarding aircrafts into 2018. ILCM will continue to work with all partners and leaders to resolve both issues in a timely fashion.