POLITICAL ACTIONS

The state legislative session of 2023 has gotten off to a fast start, thanks to single-party alignment among the legislative and executive branches and we, as a coalition, are developing a strategy about how best to restructure our bill to advance in this new context. You will hear more about our bill in the near future. In the meantime, the MSSC steering committee has identified three pieces of legislation that we are encouraging coalition members to lend their voices and presence to supporting as all these bills will help protect our immigrant communities from ICE detention and deportation.  

 

Our three priority bills are:

• Driver’s Licenses for All (HF 4 / SF 27) – Restores the right for undocumented Minnesotans to be issued a driver’s license thus allowing them to legally drive again.  This would give our immigrant neighbors the ability to care for their families, give employers access to much needed workers, and make our roads safer.  Success!! 

  
  

• MinnesotaCare Public Option (HF 96 / SF 49) – Expands access to affordable healthcare for low- and middle-income Minnesotans, including the undocumented, and creates a buy-in for small business owners. (See previous post for more details.)

   

• Gross Misdemeanor Sentencing Reform (HF 43 / SF 816) – Reduces the maximum sentence for gross misdemeanors from 365 to 364 days. This would free up criminal justice resources, remove barriers for people who’ve made mistakes in life to access federal programs, and would protect a number of our immigrant neighbors from deportation.  

   
  

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Minnesota Care Bill

 MinnesotaCare Buy-In

Fact Sheet

Everyone deserves affordable, quality healthcare.

Across race, income, and zip code every person deserves access to healthcare, no exception. We know that our families, economy, and local communities are stronger when we all have access to truly affordable, high-quality healthcare that supports our health and wellbeing. It's time to pass a MinnesotaCare Buy-In this session to allow more Minnesotans access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare. MinnesotaCare was established in 1992 and is funded through state, federal, and enrollee contributions.

What is MinnesotaCare?

Established in 1992 with bipartisan leadership, MinnesotaCare is a public healthcare program for low-income working individuals. It is funded through state, federal, and enrollee contributions.

The MinnesotaCare Buy-In proposal would:

• ●  Expand access to affordable healthcare by allowing middle-income Minnesotans struggling to afford high deductible plans on the individual market to buy-in to MinnesotaCare.

• ●  Expand eligibility to include undocumented Minnesotans currently excluded from Minnesota Health Care Programs.

• ●  Offer temporary assistance to help individuals and small businesses afford healthcare while the buy-in is being implemented.

• ●  Create a path toward alternative care delivery systems that will work with providers to improve health outcomes, health equity, and access while maintaining affordability for the state and enrollees.

  The MinnesotaCare Buy-In has strong support.

  Since its introduction in 2016, a MinnesotaCare Buy-In has had strong support from across the state. Supporters include: family farmers, small business owners, artists, entrepreneurs, retired Minnesotans who do not yet qualify for Medicare, labor unions, community organizations, health equity groups, and healthcare professionals.

  Health equity requires action.

  Our health and wellbeing is interconnected. Minnesota has explicit health equity goals--but state law excludes undocumented immigrant community members, many of whom are people of color and essential workers, from accessing Minnesota Health Care Programs, and high deductible insurance plans cut many Minnesotans from getting the care they need. This proposal takes critical action to ensure our public healthcare system and the MinnesotaCare Buy-In leaves nobody out. 

  91% of Minnesotan surveyed believe the government should expand insurance options so that everyone can afford quality care.
  (Healthcare Value Hub Survey, Nov2020) 

  Contact Robert Haider robert@takeactionminnesota.org or Sarah Greenfield sgreenfield@oconnellconsulting.net

Drivers' License for All Bill

 MN Sanctuary State Coalition is a proud partner in the statewide movement to restore access to Minnesota Driver’s Licenses and State IDs for undocumented immigrants. The Driver's Licenses For All bill would allow 95,000 undocumented immigrants in Minnesota to get driver's licenses, making life safer for our immigrant neighbors. [Read more about the many benefits here.] After passing through the Transportation, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees, the Driver's Licenses for All bill will be voted on on the MN House of Representatives floor this Monday, January 30, at 3:30 pm!

Join partners across the state to pack the state capitol and make history! 

 

What: Driver's Licenses for All on the MN House of Representatives' Floor 
When: January 30th 3:30 PM. 
Where: MN State Capitol, Second Floor

            75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

What is the MN Sanctuary State Coalition?

We are a united, interfaith, and grassroots coalition whose purpose is to advance progressive immigrant and refugee rights in Minnesota. We believe in treating all members of our community with dignity, respect, and compassion. We believe that families are stronger together and diversity makes our communities healthier. We believe that all policies and practices that work with immigrants and refugees should represent these values. We believe that criminalization of immigrants drives them into the shadows where they can be victimized or exploited, thus making our communities less safe.

What does it mean to be a Sanctuary State?

Sanctuary laws prohibits use of local resources, such as city or county police, to enforce federal immigration laws.  

Sanctuary laws also prohibit certain types of data sharing between state agencies and federal immigration agents.

Sanctuary laws operate under the principle that communities are safer when residents are willing to cooperate with law enforcement to address criminal activity. 


Being a sanctuary state does NOT mean that immigrants who commit crimes are protected from law enforcement.  As a matter of fact, sanctuary laws free up more resources to address serious and more dangerous criminal activity.

Why Should MN be a Sanctuary State?

Because we believe that our immigrant neighbors make Minnesota a better place for all of us.  As a matter of fact, our economy is already reliant on immigrant workers. https://www.mnchamber.com/blog/economic-contributions-immigrants-minnesota-executive-summary-and-introduction

Because unnecessary deportations are devastating to individuals and families.  Many times, when families are broken up, the person have been here numerous years and is the main breadwinner of the family and has relationships, children and businesses that will suffer and will be devastated in their absence.

Because sanctuary state laws would remove yet another incentive for police to racially profile community members.  Studies show that local law enforcement looking for deportable immigrants overwhelmingly targets poor people of color, mostly Latinx.  

Because Minnesota has a long history of being welcoming to immigrant communities.

The “Criminal” Immigrant

This narrative deliberately conflates civil immigration laws and criminal offenses.  Being on U.S. soil without status is not a crime.

Multiple studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crime than native-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are less likely than documented immigrants. https://www.pnas.org/content/117/51/32340

Viewing immigrants as inherently criminal has been used to justify holding detainees in life threatening conditions for years, sexually assaulting and performing unnecessary sterilizations of female immigrants, deporting legal permanent residents, and separating children from their parents.