A federal court has dismissed the Trump administration’s legal attempt to block New York’s “Green Light” law, which allows people to obtain driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status.
On the 23rd, U.S. District Judge Ann Nardacci of the Northern District of New York ruled in favor of the Trump administration, arguing that the law violates the Constitution and seeking a block.
Nardacci found that the Trump administration failed to provide evidence to support its claim that the state law overrides federal law or unfairly regulates or discriminates against the federal government. The New York Green Light Act, enacted in 2019, allows individuals to obtain a New York State driver’s license regardless of their immigration status, but restricts the sharing of applicants’ personal information with immigration authorities.
The Department of Justice filed a constitutional lawsuit against New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James in February, challenging this.
At the time, Attorney General Pam Bondi argued that “Governor Hochul and others are prioritizing undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens,” and that “state law includes a so-called ‘tip-off’ provision that requires federal immigration authorities to immediately notify undocumented immigrants of any request for information sharing. This is essentially a state agency tipping off undocumented immigrants, directly challenging federal immigration law and the federal authorities that enforce it, and is unconstitutional.” However, the court dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs failed to properly present a basis for the unconstitutionality.
Judge Nardacci acknowledged that the case involved the politically sensitive issue of immigration enforcement but noted that the court’s role was not to assess the validity of the policy, but only to determine whether it violated the Constitution as alleged by the plaintiffs.
The New York State government maintains that the law was enacted to improve road safety, arguing that it was enacted with the intent of reducing accidents caused by unlicensed and uninsured drivers and making roads safer.
Judge Nardacci also ruled that federal authorities should have greater access to New York State driver’s license information to enforce immigration policies, “which can be done through a lawful court order or judicial warrant.”