Maria Negreros weighs the risk of getting behind the wheel of her Jeep Liberty before each trip.
Swimming lessons for her 6-year-old daughter and birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese's are a no go. But the Shakopee stay-at-home mom takes her son to preschool and drives to the grocery store.
"My children don't understand why we have to choose right now," she said.
Supporters of a proposal that would allow Negreros and other Minnesotans without lawful immigration status to get driver's licenses are waging an intense lobbying campaign at the State Capitol. For this session, their fourth try in recent years, they say they have a more focused public safety message, a Republican lead author and a broader coalition of backers, including law enforcement officials.
But they are running up against opponents who are raising the specter of voter fraud and arguing the move would be an untenable concession to those who have broken the country's immigration laws. It's still unclear if the bill will get a House committee hearing before the March 20 deadline as advocates try to keep the issue separate from an acrimonious national immigration debate.
"This is not about immigration," said Marcos Carvalho, legislative advocate for Pillsbury United Communities. "This is really about safety for everyone, not just us in the Latino community."
In the past two years, the number of states that have enacted similar proposals has more than tripled, despite renewed pushback.
Tested and insured
In Minnesota, efforts to advocate for driver's licenses regardless of immigration status go back almost to 2003, when then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty barred the state from granting driving privileges to those in the country illegally. A 2010 bill gained little traction. In 2013, the state Senate passed the proposal, but it stalled in the House that year and in 2014.