Minnesota legislators have introduced a bill in the house and senate that prohibit municipal ID cards for undocumented immigrants. Back in November, the city of Minneapolis took some of the final steps in allocating $200,000 toward a program that would create municipal IDs for undocumented immigrants.
Northfield became the first city in Minnesota to administer municipal IDs and the idea has caught fire around the country, being implemented in Detroit, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. The municipal IDs aim to “regularize” the lives of undocumented immigrants and foster their civic integration, despite their status as undocumented.
The proposed legislation voids any municipal IDs given out to undocumented immigrants already as well as prohibit any further ID creation for illegal immigrants.
As of 2018, Pew Research estimated that there are about 10.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. From 2011 to 2015 the percentage of the population classified as non-citizens (both legal and undocumented immigrants) was comparable to that of the percentage incarcerated in adult correctional facilities.
Megan Olson
Megan Olson is a 2020 graduate of the University of Minnesota with degrees in political science and history. She works in public affairs in addition to serving on the Legislative Advisory Council for School District 196. She is also on the school board for FIT academy, a charter school in Apple Valley.
