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ILCM Testimony Supporting Driver’s Licenses for All

Posted on Feb 26 2021

Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee 

in support of HF 1163 

Friday, February 26, 2021 

I am Veena Iyer, and I work as the executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) is a statewide non-profit organization providing free legal services to low-income immigrants. We have offices in Austin, Moorhead, St. Paul, and Worthington.  

We submit this testimony in support of HF 1163, which would make driver’s licenses available to all residents of Minnesota who can pass the driver’s license examination, regardless of immigration status. This legislation will benefit Minnesota families and communities, especially rural Minnesota communities. This legislation will boost Minnesota’s economy, while making our roads safer for everyone.  

Driver’s licenses, issued by Minnesota’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), allow individuals to navigate our roads safely and legally. 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.1, 2 3  

Driver’s licenses could be used as proof to drive and of identity but could not be used to vote or for REAL ID purposes. Issuing licenses without proof of immigration status would not only benefit undocumented immigrants, but also those experiencing homelessness, the elderly, and other groups who may have difficulty obtaining hard-to-access documentation. 

Driver’s Licenses Are Essential for Rural Workers 

Greater Minnesota and the agricultural sector depend on immigrant workers, who need safe and legal access to roads in rural areas with little to no existing public transit. Meat-packing and poultry-processing, dairies, and fruit and vegetable production and processing all depend on immigrant workers. National estimates tell us that about half of immigrant agricultural workers are undocumented. The American Farm Bureau says: “At least 50-70 percent of farm laborers in the country today are unauthorized. Few U.S. workers are willing to fill farm labor jobs.“4  

Immigrant workers, including unauthorized immigrants, are essential to Minnesota agriculture.5 They need driver’s licenses to get to their jobs, to go to church and medical appointments, to shop for groceries, to take their children to school activities—just like all other rural Minnesotans.  

In small towns and medium-sized cities, as well as in the metro area, immigrant entrepreneurs fortify main streets with restaurants, groceries, and a myriad of other businesses. They help to maintain and grow communities across the entire state.  

Driver’s Licenses For All Benefit Minnesota’s economy.  

In Minnesota, an undocumented immigrant’s annual income would increase an estimated $2,000-6,000 for full-time workers if permitted to obtain a driver’s license.6 That means more spending, boosting Minnesota’s economy for all of us.  

Increased earnings are just the most visible and direct economic impact of making driver’s licenses available to all Minnesotans. Among the indirect benefits: 

• All drivers benefit from lower auto insurance rates in states that grant undocumented immigrants access to driver’s licenses.7 

• In New York, research showed that newly licensed immigrants would buy and register more cars.8 
• Research in New York and Massachusetts found that government revenue increases created by permit and license fees and license renewal fees easily exceed any costs.9  
• Connecticut’s DMV collected $7.5 million in license fees over four years – offset by just $300,000 to ramp up the new license program.10
  

Driver’s Licenses For All Makes All Minnesotans Safer 

Availability of driver’s licenses is a strong incentive to improve driving skills and pass licensing tests. Like everyone else, undocumented drivers would need to pass a written and driving test to obtain a license, ensuring all drivers are certified to drive.  

Licenses for undocumented immigrants means fewer accidents. Issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants led to a 9% decrease in hit-and-runs in Connecticut11 and a 7-10% decrease in California.12 

With licenses, undocumented drivers will also be required to purchase auto insurance. After passing laws that allow undocumented drivers access to licenses, New Mexico saw its rate of uninsured drivers drop by 24%. Utah saw a similar drop of 20%.13 

As of 2018, 30,700 U.S. citizen children in Minnesota14 have undocumented parents, 2.4% of all children under 18 in the state. Undocumented immigrants with access to driver’s licenses are able to help their citizen children go to school, to the doctor, and to activities and employment, building stronger families and communities for all. 

Law enforcement supports15 creating access to driver’s licenses for all immigrants to be able to verify everyone’s identity, giving them greater ability to protect public safety. Allowing undocumented immigrants access to a license, a way to drive legally, and a way to identify themselves to law enforcement would increase trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement, leading to greater collaboration and cooperation. 

Essential Workers in the Fight Against COVID-19 Need Driver’s Licenses 

When the country shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed millions of undocumented essential workers risking both their lives and the lives of their loved ones to keep our country going. They are doctors and nurses providing life-saving healthcare, farmers and grocery-store-workers protecting us from food scarcity, and teachers educating our youth virtually. 69% of undocumented immigrants work in front-line jobs16 considered “essential” to the U.S. fight against COVID-19. 

Their sacrifices helped enable America to withstand the worst pandemic since the 1918 flu pandemic. Their commitment to our nation has been invaluable. We support federal legislation to safeguard these workers by providing a path to legal residence. In Minnesota, this. legislation is needed to ensure they have safe, reliable transportation to work.  

Thank you for this opportunity to testify in favor of HF 1163, modifying requirements for a noncompliant driver’s license or Minnesota identification card to provide for driver’s licenses and identification for all Minnesota residents.  

Respectfully submitted, 

Veena Iyer, Executive Director 

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota