The Minnesota House voted in favor of a bill Friday afternoon that will allow illegal immigrants in the state to obtain valid driver’s licenses. Under House File 1500, an individual will not be “required to demonstrate United States citizenship or lawful presence in the United States in order to obtain a noncompliant driver’s license or identification card.” DFL legislators and their allies first unveiled the bill at a February press conference, which Archbishop Bernard Hebda spoke at in favor of the legislation. Hebda has called the bill an “important human rights test,” and said the Catholic Church sees it as “closely related to the question of dignity of human life.” Prior to Friday’s floor vote, supporters of the bill called one last press conference to discuss its importance. Fr. Joseph Williams, pastor of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Minneapolis, spoke at the press conference on behalf of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. “Some of the people whom I pastor don’t have their papers, but all of them bear the image and likeness of God. And I’ve discovered over the years that they love this great country as much as I do, and they’re working hard, often in humble circumstances, to make…
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