As the Minnesota Legislature began its 2023 session Jan. 3, Archbishop Bernard Hebda spoke at a news conference, urging legislators to act on a proposal “long overdue in its passage” that would allow undocumented people in Minnesota to apply for state driver’s licenses.
HF 4 — also known as the “Driver’s Licenses for All” bill — would allow an individual to obtain a Minnesota driver’s license or state identification card without the need to show proof of citizenship or lawful presence in the United States.
Authors of the proposal note the identification cards created under the legislation would be marked as invalid for voter registration. Additionally, they could not be used for air travel, entering federal buildings or as documentation of U.S. citizenship or legal status.
The proposed legislation would also require undocumented people to learn the rules of the road and take a driving test to receive the license.
The measure was approved by the Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee early in 2021 and was submitted to the Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee, which amended it in March 2021.
In 2021, Archbishop Hebda called the proposal (HF 1163 at the time), an “urgently needed remedy for the approximately 90,000 undocumented people in our state.”
Archbishop Hebda argued Jan. 3 that the proposal would put an end to the fear families face that a traffic violation might end in an undocumented person’s potential deportation, separating them from their loved ones.
“Every Minnesota resident, especially those who have proven themselves as hardworking contributors to our communities, deserves to live with dignity, not in fear of being separated from their families every time they drive to meet basic needs,” Archbishop Hebda. He added, “As a Church, we work in the public arena to keep families together and help them flourish; creating driver’s licenses for all is part of our families first policy agenda.”
Also in attendance at the crowded news conference were Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, legislative authors of the proposal, and community members voicing their support for the proposal.
