DWI in Minnesota
In 2016 the Supreme Court held that police could not force you to submit to a blood test without first getting a warrant signed by a Judge. Cases soon followed requiring a warrant for urine as well. And Minnesota's law criminalizing the refusal to take a breath test was upheld as constitutional.
On July 1, 2017, changes to the implied consent and DWI laws went into effect in Minnesota that were, in part, a response to new Supreme Court decisions described above.
As expected many police departments throughout Minneosta have seemlessly adapted to obtaining warrants, and quite quickly, for blood and urine on suspicion of a DWI.
Immigration courts, including the local court in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, have also substantially changed the way they view both allegations and convictions of DWI. Whereas obtaining a bond or voluntary departure following a DWI was nearly always a possibility before, at present a DWI conviction will likely prevent an alien from both.
The most significant consequence of this is that spouses of United States Citizens, who would otherwise be eligible to obtain their visa abroad and return as green card holders in a matter of weeks or months, are being saddled with deportation orders that bar their return for 5 years.