Undocumented Minnesotans continue to apply for state driver’s licenses even as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House in January and follow through on his promises to increase deportations.

Minnesota’s Driver’s License for All law went into effect last October, making Minnesota the 21st US state or territory to allow undocumented people to legally drive a vehicle. Many immigrants at a recent course on how to apply for a license said they are taking a wait-and-see approach to the Trump administration.

They are aware of his anti-immigrant rhetoric and plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, but say it’s still speculation at this point. Without permanent legal status, they say, they are always at risk in the United States, no matter who is in the White House. Licenses are also available to people who are in the country legally but do not have permanent residency, such as immigrants who have been granted temporary protection status.

“We think if we’re on the right track, it won’t affect us,” Mayreli, a Venezuelan immigrant, said of Trump’s plans.

Mayreli, who is identified only by her first name because of her immigration status, said most immigrants in her country are professionals who just want to work, and that getting a driver’s license and ID card are important steps. Trump’s campaign promises are scary, she said, but she believes he will mostly target criminals.

She took her driver’s license test a week after the election.

The state does not share information about licensed drivers with federal immigration authorities absent a court order, the Minnesota Drivers and Vehicle Services (DVS) office said in a statement to the Sahan Journal.

“We share data only as permitted or required by law,” the statement said. “We will share information only if required by a state or federal court order after all legal remedies have been exhausted.”

The first year of driving license for all saw a 500% increase in driver’s license tests taken in Spanish. The test is offered in nine languages, including Dari, French, Hmong, Karen, Pashto, Russian, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Minnesota has issued 25,223 driver’s licenses to people using birth certificates or foreign passports as documents this year as of Nov. 13, according to DVS. The department noted that the use of a foreign document to obtain a license does not necessarily correlate with the applicant’s immigration status, and that details about who used such documents are not public information or available to law enforcement.

The licenses issued by law are indistinguishable from other licenses, although non-permanent residents are not eligible for federally accepted Real ID, DVS said.

Having a driver’s license keeps undocumented people from ending up in the court system for minor traffic violations, which can trigger deportation proceedings, experts say.

Pursuing a better life

Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina (COPAL) hosts driver’s license classes and written exams in south Minneapolis. Exactly one week after the election, a group of 15 sat for the early afternoon exam. The group, including Mayreli, attended a one-hour course on Minnesota driving rules before taking the test.

Participants included recent arrivals from Venezuela and El Salvador. They see the license as a path to leadership, the higher earning potential that comes with it, and as a way to obtain a legitimate form of identification. The Sahan Journal identifies participants by first name only because of their immigration status.

Manuel, a participant from Venezuela who has lived in Minnesota for about a year, said his feeling about living in the U.S. hasn’t changed despite Trump’s calls for more deportations and to end programs like Temporary Protected Status that allow people fleeing certain countries to stay. in the United States. He said he wanted a license because life is much harder without a car.

Juan Carlos and his family came to Minnesota a year ago and are enjoying life in St. Paul. His sister lived there, which made it an attractive destination. The city is spectacular, he said, although it’s hard to get used to the weather. He came to the United States to provide a better life for his three daughters. Juan Carlos worked as a driver in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and wants to be able to drive here. Looking forward to having a local ID.

“It’s really important,” he said.

Juan Carlos believes that people from troubled countries like his will continue to immigrate to the United States, no matter who is president. They have an obligation to their children to pursue a better life, he said.

Protections in place

Minnesota’s Driver’s License for All law has safeguards, including data protection, so that law enforcement who check a driver’s license during a traffic stop cannot access immigration data. According to DVS, federal immigration authorities, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are prohibited from accessing driver’s license immigration data unless they obtain a warrant.

Trump has campaigned on mass deportations and recently announced plans to appoint Tom Homan to a role he called “border czar” that will oversee those moves. Homan was appointed acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the first Trump administration, but was never confirmed by the Senate.

Fears that the federal government is using driver’s license information to access information about immigration status arose in the first Trump administration. In late 2019, after New York and New Jersey allowed undocumented residents to obtain licenses, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security sent a memo requesting a study of how those laws affected enforcement efforts.

ICE used state driver’s license databases while trying to identify people in photos in Utah, Vermont and Washington, The Washington Post reported in 2019. The paper reported on a similar practice in Maryland in 2020.

Minnesota has good protections against federal immigration officials using driver’s license data, but it doesn’t necessarily protect against the federal government breaking the law, said Julia Decker, policy director of the Minnesota Immigrant Law Center.

There’s no telling what will come of Trump’s campaign promises, Decker said, but threats against immigrants should be taken seriously. States can add protections, but they can’t always prevent the federal government from accessing information, she said.

“The reality is that anytime we as residents provide our information to any government entity, there is a non-zero possibility that the information will fall into the hands of another government entity,” Decker said.