ST. PAUL – On Monday, the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division heard a bill by Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, HF 1500, a bill to give driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants living in Minnesota. State Representative Matt Grossell, R-Clearbrook, joined all House Republicans on the committee in voting against the bill moving forward. Rep. Grossell issued the following statement:
"Why on earth is this being considered? A driver's license is a privilege, not a right, and it is a privilege we bestow on citizens and those in our county legally," said Rep. Grossell, a retired law enforcement officer. "Immigration policy is handled at the federal level and efforts to subvert that and to essentially make Minnesota a sanctuary state are unacceptable and undermine the rule of law."
"With the MNLARS debacle, our state agencies have shown themselves to be incapable of effectively and efficiently processing driver licenses to those currently eligible. I can only imagine the headaches this new process would be for everyone involved from the computer system to the local DMVs needing to distribute them. This is just a bad idea."
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