A large crowd greeted members as they left the House Chamber April 5, 2019 after the House passed a “Drivers’ Licenses for All Bill” 74-52. That year, the bill did not pass the Republican-controlled Senate. A similar bill passed and took effect in 2023. Photo by Paul Battaglia/Minnesota House Information.
As President Donald Trump begins ramping up immigration enforcement, some immigrants in Minnesota are worried that the data they’ve handed over to the government when filing taxes, requesting financial aid or applying for a drivers’ license will be used to identify and deport them.
Since 2023, undocumented immigrants in Minnesota have been able to get drivers’ licenses. But the state Department of Driver and Vehicle Services doesn’t ask about an applicant’s immigration status, nor does the department maintain data that would identify an individual as undocumented, said Erin Johnson, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, which oversees DVS.
Johnson said the department has not received any requests for information from immigration authorities.
“If we received a data request for this, we would require a valid search warrant or court order issued by a state or federal judge,” Johnson said.
Advocates for the “Drivers’ Licenses for All” campaign considered that immigration authorities could try to use drivers’ license data to identify undocumented people, and wrote protections into the law.
The law removed the requirement for applicants to demonstrate their legal presence in the U.S. Applicants can show a wide range of identifying documents to qualify for a drivers’ license; for example, a valid international passport and a U.S. tax return.
“DVS will not be submitting any names, any personal information to any immigration law enforcement for deportation,” said Jody-Kay Peterson, program director of driver services at DPS, in a press conference ahead of the law’s implementation.