St. Paul, MN — Real ID is one step closer to being implemented in Minnesota. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Senate’s version of Real ID, authored by Sen. Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake) passed the Senate Committee on Transportation Finance and Policy.
Unlike its counterpart in the House, the Senate’s bill omits the undocumented immigrant clause.
As Alpha News reported, Rep. Dennis Smith (R-Maple Grove) has faced backlash during committee hearings for the inclusion of line 6.25 which states a person can only obtain a Real ID if they have lawful status.
Minnesota currently has a rule that denies undocumented immigrants the ability to obtain a driver’s license. Rules can be changed with other rules. However, the inclusion of line 6.25 in the House bill would upgrade the rule to a statute.
The State has until January 2018 to comply with Real ID orders. All states must be compliant by 2020. Without Real ID compliance, people would not be able to get into federal government buildings, military bases, airplanes, and nuclear facility sites.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
