Alpha News: Minnesota Catholics Lobby For Illegal Immigrants to Get Driver’s License

(January 14, 2017 – Alpha News – Preya Samsundar)

Tuesday’s roll call for Real ID passed the MN House Civil Law Committee 7-6.

The passing of Real ID prompted the MN Catholic Conference to lobby members of the legislature to change one small yet significant portion of the bill.

The original language comes from section 6.25 stating “(3) lawful status, as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 6, section 37.3.”

Federal regulations define lawful status as “a person in lawful status is a citizen or national of the United States; or an alien: lawfully admitted for permanent or temporary residence in the United States…”

As written, the bill would ask individuals seeking an upgraded ID for legal status.

The MN Catholic Conference – the official lobbying group for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis sent a letter urging lawmakers to remove language found in section 6.25.

In a statement to Alpha News, Shawn Peterson, the Associate Director of Public Policy of the Minnesota Catholic Conference said:

“The Minnesota Catholic Conference has continually been supportive of a bipartisan measure to allow undocumented persons to obtain a provisional driver’s license for the sole purpose of transporting themselves and their children to work, school, and their place of worship. This measure has been supported by a wide variety of organizations, including the legal immigrant community, faith communities, business organizations, and law enforcement, and has been successfully implemented in several other states. Undocumented immigrants who live in our communities are already driving on our streets. Why not ensure that they are doing so in a safe and legal manner?”

Continue reading the story here…