Dear John,

Thank you to our amazing community!

You did it. We did it. Driver's Licenses for All is finally the law again in Minnesota!

This is a giant THANK YOU to all of the good people who, this year and over the past 20 years, worked so hard to make this moment happen.

Immigrants and immigrant organizers, and vulnerable community members who took the risk of sharing their stories with legislators and the public.

Business and agricultural groups and leaders. Faith leaders. Law enforcement organizations and spokespersons. Civic groups.

People across Minnesota who contacted their legislators, wrote letters to the editor, and talked to their friends and neighbors.

Advocates and activists who came to the Capitol time and time again, not only this year but repeatedly over the past 20 years.

Lawmakers and their staff who listened to these stories, never gave up, and brought this win home.

I hesitate to list names of organizations or individuals because so very, very many have done so very, very much, but I would be remiss if I did not thank some of the leaders of this movement, past and present:

Among our elected officials:

* Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan

*
The chief authors this year, Senators Zaynab Mohamed and Bobby Joe Champion and Representatives Aisha Gomez and Maria Isa Perez-Vega; Committee Chairs and long-time supporters, including Senators Scott Dibble, Ron Latz, Erin Murphy, and John Marty and Representatives Frank Hornstein, Jamie Becker-Finn, and Liz Olson; and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and Speaker Melissa Hortman

*

Prior representatives and senators who were champions of the bill, including Representatives Karen Clark, Rod Hamilton, Carlos Mariani, and Ryan Winkler and Senator Patricia Torres Ray;

*
The staffs of all of these elected officials, particularly Paul Cumings in the House and Ben Pettee in the Senate;

Among our tremendous grassroots and labor union partners led by impacted immigrant communities:

* La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles

*
Black Immigrant Collective (BIC)

* Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL)

* Communidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL)

* Minnesota AFL-CIO

* Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM)

*
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC)

* SEIU-Local 26

* UFCW- Local 663

* UNIDOS-MN

* Unite Here-Local 17

Among our nonprofit and legal partners:

* ACLU-MN

* Advocates for Human Rights

* American Immigration Lawyers Association

*
Binger Center for New Americans at the UMN Law School

* Just Futures

* Legal Services Advocacy Project

* Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs

* Minnesota Budget Project

* Mitchell Hamline School of Law

*
National Immigrant Law Center

* DeLeon & Nestor

* Project FINE

* University of St. Thomas Law School

* Voices for Racial Justice

Among our faith partners:

* Conversations with Friends

* Fey Y Justicia

* Interfaith Coalition on Immigration

* ISAIAH

*
Jewish Community Action

* Minneapolis Synod of the ELCA

* Minnesota Catholic Conference

* Joan of Arc Catholic Church

Among our business and law enforcement partners:

* Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, including the long-time prior head of advocacy Bill Blazar

* Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association

* Minnesota Police Chiefs Associations

And last but certainly not least, thank you to the members of the ILCM family--past and present--who worked tirelessly for this day:

* Our former Executive Director John Keller

*
Our former policy associates Sylvie Bisangwa and Felipe Illescas

* Current staff members and contractors: Communications Manager Mari Arneson, Communications Contractor Mary Turck, Senior Accredited Representative Martha Castañon, Supervising Attorney Sara Karki, and EJW Fellow and Staff Attorney Julia Potach, and

*
Innumerable law clerks, interns, and volunteers over the past 20 years.

This was not an easy win. As we take a moment to celebrate, let our celebrations give us courage and determination to continue with the many ongoing campaigns on the state and federal level to ensure that immigrants and refugees across Minnesota and our nation are recognized as full members of our community.

¡Si se puede!

Yes we did!

With gratitude,

Veena Iyer

ILCM Executive Director

P.S. Watch the ILCM website for fact sheets and FAQs on Driver's Licenses for All!

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