St. Paul, MN – More than 40 immigrant rights activists from all over the state of Minnesota rallied at the capitol here, February 11, the opening day of the legislative session. People traveled from as far as Zimmerman and Rochester to participate in the action. The rally and lobbying action were organized by Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM) and Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). Activists asked the Minnesota legislature to support driver’s licenses for all and to make Minnesota a sanctuary state.

Dressed in red, MIM and MIRAC members rallied in the rotunda of the capitol, calling on representatives to pass legislation that would allow all people, including undocumented immigrants, to take the driver test and get a license. Activists marched from the rotunda to the doors of the senate chanting “What do we want? Driver's licenses! When do we want it? Now!” and “¿Qué es lo que queremos? ¡Licencias! ¿Cuando es lo que queremos? ¡Ahora!” The protesters even received support from other groups gathered at the capitol as they were inspired to cheer them on and join in on the rally.

Activists with MIM first started mobilizing community members around the Driver’s Licenses for All campaign in 2008. They argue that allowing people wider access to licenses has far-reaching benefits. Drivers and passengers will be safer on the road if all people have the ability to take the driver’s test and learn the state’s laws. Having a driver’s license as a form of identification also allows families better access to basic services such as renting an apartment, opening a bank account and paying bills. Last year a driver’s license bill passed in the Minnesota House but failed to pass the Senate.

After the rally, MIRAC and MIM members lobbied individual senators asking them for their support of a driver’s license bill. Some lawmakers think the bill might not pass due to the Republican majority in the senate, but activists and community members will continue fighting until all Minnesotans have access to driver's licenses.

But the fight will not end with just driver’s licenses. After pressuring leaders to make Minneapolis a sanctuary city, MIRAC activists and other immigrant rights groups continue fighting to make Minnesota a sanctuary state. “Sanctuary” typically implies that a municipality will refuse to collaborate with ICE, therefore giving sanctuary or safety from deportation to undocumented immigrants. MIRAC members will continue to lobby their representatives to support their Sanctuary State platform which includes driver’s licenses for all, ending ICE detention, no data sharing with ICE, divestment from border militarization, access to health care benefits for immigrants, and expanding resources for refugees and immigrants in Minnesota.

#SaintPaulMN #PeoplesStruggles #driversLicence

Saint Paul, MN – Hundreds of immigrants and supporters filled the Minnesota State Capitol on February 28 for the first committee hearing of House File 1500, the ‘drivers license for all’ bill. The hearing room quickly filled to capacity, as did two overflow rooms. After more than two hours of public testimony and debate, the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee voted to pass the bill and refer it to the House Ways and Means Committee for the next step in the process.

Today’s hearing and vote is the first of several steps for immigrants to win the right to a drivers license in Minnesota. HF1500 is the House bill to restore driver's licenses for all Minnesotans of age regardless of immigration status. There is not yet a Senate companion bill, but democrat Representative Ryan Winkler said in the hearing that they are working closely with senators to move the process forward in the Senate too.

HF1500 would allow Minnesota residents to apply for a drivers license regardless of their immigration status. This was allowed in Minnesota until 2003 when then-Governor Tim Pawlenty changed the rules. Currently, undocumented immigrants who live in the state can’t get a drivers license. This leads to many problems with the police and ICE such as fines, arrests and deportations while driving kids to school or medical appointments or going to work.

After over a decade of frustrated attempts to pass a drivers license bill in Minnesota, last November’s election results have brought a renewed push. The new democrat Governor Tim Walz has expressed support, as has the Democratic leadership in the Minnesota House. HF1500 is sponsored by House Majority Leader Winkler.

Many community organizations have joined together this year in the Freedom to Drive MN campaign to fight for the right to a drivers license. The large turnout at the hearing reflects a deeply felt need among immigrants and their families in Minnesota for the right to drive without fear of jail or deportation.

Several community members gave testimony to the committee about the profound need for a drivers license in immigrant communities, including Victor Ramírez-Juárez of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and Maria Cisneros, who was one of the initiators of the drivers license movement in Minnesota more than a decade ago.

While the Democrats control the Minnesota House, Republicans still control the Senate. So immigrant rights movement leaders are prepared for a more difficult battle there, but confident that with mass mobilization victory is possible.

#SaintPaulMN #PeoplesStruggles #driversLicence #MIRAc #HF1500

Saint Paul, MN – As the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives voted on a bill, May 17, to change Minnesota drivers license to comply with the federal government’s REAL ID security program, immigrant rights activists were there demanding that the politicians keep anti-immigrant politics out of the bill.

The protesters carried signs with messages such as “Access to drivers licenses is a human right!” “Representative Smith: Keep anti-immigrant politics out of SF 3589!” and “Dump the Trump-style agenda in REAL ID!”

Immigrant rights activists have fought for many years in Minnesota for immigrants to have the right to get a state drivers license. Current state law doesn’t allow it, so an estimated 100,000 undocumented immigrants in the state must risk arrest and deportation for driving without a license in order to get to work or take children to school, due to the inadequacy of public transit.

The campaign for drivers license equality continues this year, but it is complicated by the federal Department of Homeland Security bullying the state into complying with REAL ID. A REAL ID-compliant license is not available to immigrants.

The federal government is threatening Minnesotans with serious repercussions, like not allowing Minnesota’s drivers license to be used as valid ID in airports or government buildings, if the state drivers license is not brought into compliance with the federal REAL ID guidelines. In a prior legislative session, the Minnesota legislature voted overwhelmingly in a bipartisan vote to refuse to comply with REAL ID because of privacy concerns around people’s private data being shared with the federal government through REAL ID. Under arm-twisting from the federal government, the Minnesota legislature repealed their anti-REAL ID bill earlier this year.

The struggle now is over how a REAL ID-compliant license will be implemented in Minnesota. The bill passed in the Democrat-controlled senate leaves open the possibility of Minnesota following California and a dozen other states to create a second, non-REAL ID compliant version of the state drivers license which would be available to immigrants living in the state that could only be used for driving, but not for federal identification for airports, government buildings, and the like.

On May 17, the House Republican majority passed their version of the bill, which contains language that explicitly prohibits undocumented immigrants from getting any Minnesota drivers license. The Senate bill does not exclude that possibility.

On May 19, a conference committee met to negotiate a compromise between the House and Senate bills. As of May 19 they reportedly have not decided about whether the anti-immigrant language will be included in the final bill that goes to the governor.

Members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) were at the capitol on May 19 to express their opposition to the House version of the bill, which includes the anti-immigrant provisions.

According to MIRAC member Julio Martinez, “We call on the legislature to stop this Trump-style anti-immigrant agenda and instead to recognize the basic human rights of our community who work and live in Minnesota. We want drivers license access for all in Minnesota.”

#SaintPaulMN #driversLicence #MIRAc #REALID

SF224/HF97 would allow anyone who lives in Minnesota to apply for a drivers license regardless of their immigration status. Currently undocumented immigrants who live in the state can’t get a drivers license. This leads to many problems with the police and ICE such as fines, arrests and deportations.

During the hearing, the Senate author of the bill, Bobby Jo Champion, proposed an amendment to his bill to add a marking on the back of the license to say “for driving only” so that people can’t use the license for anything else. The committee approved that amendment. A Republican on the committee, Eric Pratt, proposed another amendment to move that marking to the front of the license. But the committee voted against that amendment, so the bill stays for now with the marking on the back.

Many organizations in Minnesota are fighting for the right to a drivers license and mobilized to pack the hearing. Two of the main groupings are the One State One License Coalition, which is fighting for an unmarked drivers license, and the Safe Roads Coalition. The large turnout at the hearing reflects a deeply felt need among immigrants in Minnesota for the right to drive without fear of jail or deportation.

Activists had to push the politicians to even get a hearing scheduled for the drivers license bill this year. The politicians finally agreed just under the wire, with the first hearing held just one day before the March 20 hearing deadline.

The bill’s next hearing is on March 25 at 12:15 pm in the State Office Building. The One State One License Coalition, the Safe Roads Coalition and other organizations are all mobilizing for a large turnout to this key hearing in the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee. This is the first hearing in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, so immigrant rights movement leaders are prepared for a more difficult battle there, but confident that with mass mobilization victory is possible. If the bill passes the House and Senate transportation committees, there would be at least one more committee hearing before the bill would reach the full House and Senate for a vote and then be sent to Governor Mark Dayton.

#SaintPaulMN #driversLicence #OneStateOneLicenseCoalition

Tampa, FL – A dozen people came together here, Feb. 26, to confront the city council and demand its members support drivers licenses for the undocumented. Alicia Gazga led the rally and chanted, “City council, shame on you!” and “What do we want? Licenses! When do we want them? Now!”

“We were standing in the cold right outside the city council windows, demanding that they hear us out,” said Michela Martinazzi of the Tampa Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR). “The city council members and their aides were there too, they even stared down at us but ignored us and ignored our demands!”

Feb. 26 marks the one-year anniversary of when the first protest against Tampa city council on this issue took place. The protests were called by Raíces en Tampa to pressure the city council to publicly support drivers licenses being issued to the undocumented. The first protest in 2014 was called to pressure the city council to even meet with Raíces en Tampa.

“Back in 2014, Tampa city council and their aides refused to even return our phone calls to meet with us,” said Marisol Marquez of Raíces en Tampa. “After the protest, they began to call us back and we even met with six of the seven council members.”

During a public city council meeting, Raíces en Tampa tried to put their resolution up for a vote. City council meetings occur on Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m., which are nearly impossible for most workers to attend. Over 20 community members took time off of work anyway to attend this meeting and publicly expressed to the city council why they should vote in favor of the resolution. Led by Councilman Charlie Miranda, the Tampa city council simply would respond with, “Thank you,” after every community member spoke in favor of the resolution. Not documented on the minutes of the public meeting, at one point Councilman Mike Suarez silenced Raíces en Tampa member Marisol Marquez who to their faces, reminded city council they had indeed, met with Raíces en Tampa when they lied and said they did not.

Some of the groups present with Raíces en Tampa were the Tampa CSFR, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society and the Student/Farmworker Alliance.

“My mom was driving with an expired license,” says Alicia Gazga. “She was pulled over and was asked for her license and insurance. The cop told her that her insurance was not active, when it was. Then the cop told her to step out of the car, to call someone to pick up my two-year-old sister because she [the mother] was going to jail. When I came to pick her up my mom was already handcuffed and on the back of the cop car. My sister was terrified crying. No mother should she put in that situation!”

Next steps for Raíces en Tampa include organizing for International Worker's Day – which will occur on May 1, 2015. There, Raíces en Tampa will organize for drivers licenses to be issued to the undocumented in Florida and for deportations to stop. Be sure to follow them and their upcoming events here: http://facebook.com/RaicesEnTampa

#TampaFL #driversLicence #RaicesEnTampa

Los Angeles, CA – The El Sereno community in East Los Angeles came out to protest another police checkpoint May 24. Mexican, Chicano and Central American residents, most of whom are immigrants, challenged the second LAPD checkpoint in the area this month. Residents felt targeted by the LAPD Traffic Division as this checkpoint was on Huntington Drive, located in the heart of the community, near a major market.

On May 2, local residents and the Centro CSO protested a similar checkpoint (at Huntington and Poplar) and were successful in helping many residents avoid getting their car impounded, to the dismay of LAPD and the local Official Police Garage Association tow company. Members of the Official Police Garage Association reap millions in profits from car impounds and often make donations to local politicians.

In January 2015 the Department of Motor Vehicles will make California driver’s license available to the undocumented, and the millions of dollars generated by car impounds will dry up.

For years, the Community Service Organization (CSO) has pointed out that police target Mexican/Chicano communities, where the majority undocumented immigrants with no driver’s licenses as easy prey for car confiscations. Centro CSO, with many other organizations such as Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamerica, fought for California driver’s license for the undocumented for years. Now that licenses are finally coming, the police – especially the LA Sheriff’s Department in league with the Official Police Garage Association – are trying to make as much money as they can.

#LosAngelesCA #immigrantRights #driversLicence #LAPD #ChicanoMovement #checkpointProtest

Saint Paul, MN – More than three hundred Latino immigrants and supporters rallied in the Capitol rotunda and marched to Governor Dayton’s office March 26 to press Governor Dayton and House Speaker Paul Thissen to pass HF348, the bill for drivers licenses for all. The rally was organized by Mesa Latina and supported broadly by the immigrant rights movement.

Currently undocumented immigrants cannot get drivers licenses in Minnesota, though they can in several other states. Due to extreme weather and inadequate public transportation, the thousands of immigrants that live in Minnesota are forced to drive for everyday tasks, like getting to work and taking children to school. Many of the immigrants that are deported and separated from their families first get ensnared in the criminal justice system when they are stopped for driving without a license. Once in the criminal justice system, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intervenes and starts deportation proceedings against many people who have done nothing more than drive to work.

The Minnesota Senate passed the bill last legislative session, so only the House needs to pass it and the governor would need to sign it. Governor Dayton’s lack of support has stalled the bill. Governor Dayton is a Democrat and the House is under Democratic