ST. PAUL, MN –  Early Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats passed a signature bill that provides drivers licenses to illegal immigrants off the Senate floor. Already passed by the House, it heads to the Governor’s desk, who has committed to signing it.  

“I’m really disappointed that this is a higher priority than cutting taxes for our seniors,” Sen. Rob Farnsworth (R- Hibbing) said. “We have a historic surplus that needs to go back to the people, and here we are in the middle of a blizzard voting to give illegal immigrants a driver’s license. It sends the wrong signal to immigrants patiently waiting in line and ignores the very real issues we have with crime in our state. I voted against the final bill because there are a lot more important things we could be doing right now.” 

The bill faced numerous amendments by Senate Republicans, including denoting the license was for driving privileges only and could not be used for voting, addressing a national security loophole that would allow illegal immigrants access to federal buildings and flights with a Minnesota driver’s license before the REAL ID standards are enforced, ensure traffic safety, and data sharing for the purposes of helping victims of crime. Senate Democrats voted against the amendments on party-line votes.