A controversial New York law that blocks federal agents trying to enforce immigration laws from seeing illegal immigrants’ criminal driving records during stops is putting law enforcement and American citizens in danger, experts say, and the Trump administration is suing to have the legislation undone.
The so-called green light law, officially known as the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, took effect in 2019 but has come under renewed scrutiny following a fatal shootout in neighboring Vermont that left a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent dead near the border with Canada, and as President Donald Trump has ordered a nationwide crackdown on known criminal aliens at the start of his second term in the White House.
“Any information that can help law enforcement stay safe as they conduct their duties has pretty much been taken away with this green light law,” said Hector Garza, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council.
The “green light law” has two key features. One is granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. The other is that it blocks Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents from access to New York driver records, including those for felonies and misdemeanors.
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“What this does is that it prevents law enforcement agents from getting any type of information in regards to any registrations that the state has,” Garza said. “For example, before we engage in traffic stops, typically law enforcement will always conduct a vehicle registration check to see if there’s any warrants to see if that person is considered armed and dangerous.”
That information can help agents make informed decisions before initiating a stop and while approaching a vehicle.
“You might actually call in for additional backup,” he said. “You might not want to pull somebody over close to schools or close to communities where there might be a lot of traffic, for example. You might want to conduct that traffic stop further on in the town, right where it might be safer.”
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“They have green light laws, meaning they’re giving a green light to any illegal alien in New York where law enforcement officers cannot check their identity if they pull them over,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week. “And law enforcement officers do not have access to their background. And if these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day.”
While New York is one of a dozen states that allows illegals to drive, it is the provision blocking access to Department of Motor Vehicle records that has prompted concerns.
The Justice Department sued a group of Empire State leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner over the green light law, which court filings say hinders the work of federal immigration enforcement by hiding information from agents.
“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi said at a news conference last week. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today.”
James, in a statement, vowed to fight the lawsuit.
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“Our state laws, including the green light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she said. “I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have.”
Proponents of the law argue it makes the roads safer because illegal immigrant drivers will pass a driving test if they obtain a state license. But members of law enforcement see it differently.
“We’re targeting people that have very serious and dangerous criminal records, people who have been convicted of serious crimes. These are the people that we’re after,” Garza said. “So whenever we’re doing a record check on a vehicle, that is information that we’re looking for to be able to target those people that are a menace to society.”
Hochul called the DOJ lawsuit “worthless” and said federal agents could still gain access to state DMV records with a warrant.
But that process can be too slow to help agents conducting traffic stops in the field, like 44-year-old Border Patrol agent David Maland, who was killed in Vermont on Jan. 20. The surviving suspect in Maland’s death is a computer science student alleged to be part of a gender-bending anarchist cult linked to six murders in three states. Also killed in the shootout was a transgender German national.
While the vast majority of illegal crossings happen at the southern border, officials have been warning for years that the northern line has seen an increase. Since President Donald Trump’s second term began last month, highlighted by a nationwide crackdown on criminal aliens, illegal crossings at the southern border have plummeted. As of last week, the daily average of known getaways was down by 93%.
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The New York lawsuit came after the DOJ sued Illinois and Chicago over sanctuary policies.
“Whenever the states refuse to work with federal law enforcement, it hinders public safety,” Garza said. “At the end of the day, the ones that are being impacted here are the communities that we’re trying to protect.”
Former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said it was such a security concern that New York residents would temporarily be unable to apply for or renew their status as trusted traveler programs (TTPs), which includes Global Entry membership.
“This is about the state cutting off information sharing with [Customs and Border Protection] and law enforcement not being able to do their job to properly vet individuals applying for the TTP,” DHS said at the time.
Border Patrol stops have frequently led to arrests of smugglers and known criminals, according to former federal assistant U.S. attorney Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles trial lawyer who early in his career prosecuted cross-border drug traffickers.
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“I saw many, many arrests that resulted from a CBP traffic stop at the border or a Border Patrol stop in the United States,” he told Fox News Digital. “At the border, we were looking for people who were trying to enter the United States unlawfully with false documents or criminals who were trying to smuggle aliens in the compartments of their vehicle. In the country, we were looking for smugglers who were transporting aliens to stash houses or their final destination in the United States.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
A controversial New York law that blocks federal agents trying to enforce immigration laws from seeing illegal immigrants’ criminal driving records during stops is putting law enforcement and American citizens in danger, experts say, and the Trump administration is suing to have the legislation undone.
The so-called green light law, officially known as the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, took effect in 2019 but has come under renewed scrutiny following a fatal shootout in neighboring Vermont that left a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent dead near the border with Canada, and as President Donald Trump has ordered a nationwide crackdown on known criminal aliens at the start of his second term in the White House.
“Any information that can help law enforcement stay safe as they conduct their duties has pretty much been taken away with this green light law,” said Hector Garza, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council.
The “green light law” has two key features. One is granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. The other is that it blocks Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents from access to New York driver records, including those for felonies and misdemeanors.
BONDI ANNOUNCES NEW LAWSUITS AGAINST STATES ALLEGEDLY FAILING TO COMPLY WITH IMMIGRATION ACTIONS
“What this does is that it prevents law enforcement agents from getting any type of information in regards to any registrations that the state has,” Garza said. “For example, before we engage in traffic stops, typically law enforcement will always conduct a vehicle registration check to see if there’s any warrants to see if that person is considered armed and dangerous.”
That information can help agents make informed decisions before initiating a stop and while approaching a vehicle.
“You might actually call in for additional backup,” he said. “You might not want to pull somebody over close to schools or close to communities where there might be a lot of traffic, for example. You might want to conduct that traffic stop further on in the town, right where it might be safer.”
ILLEGAL-SMUGGLING COYOTES NOW ADVERTISING AT CANADA BORDER AMID TRUMP MIGRANT CRACKDOWN: REPORT
“They have green light laws, meaning they’re giving a green light to any illegal alien in New York where law enforcement officers cannot check their identity if they pull them over,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week. “And law enforcement officers do not have access to their background. And if these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day.”
While New York is one of a dozen states that allows illegals to drive, it is the provision blocking access to Department of Motor Vehicle records that has prompted concerns.
The Justice Department sued a group of Empire State leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner over the green light law, which court filings say hinders the work of federal immigration enforcement by hiding information from agents.
“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi said at a news conference last week. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today.”
James, in a statement, vowed to fight the lawsuit.
BORDER PATROL AGENT KILLED IN VERMONT IDENTIFIED
“Our state laws, including the green light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she said. “I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have.”
Proponents of the law argue it makes the roads safer because illegal immigrant drivers will pass a driving test if they obtain a state license. But members of law enforcement see it differently.
“We’re targeting people that have very serious and dangerous criminal records, people who have been convicted of serious crimes. These are the people that we’re after,” Garza said. “So whenever we’re doing a record check on a vehicle, that is information that we’re looking for to be able to target those people that are a menace to society.”
Hochul called the DOJ lawsuit “worthless” and said federal agents could still gain access to state DMV records with a warrant.
But that process can be too slow to help agents conducting traffic stops in the field, like 44-year-old Border Patrol agent David Maland, who was killed in Vermont on Jan. 20. The surviving suspect in Maland’s death is a computer science student alleged to be part of a gender-bending anarchist cult linked to six murders in three states. Also killed in the shootout was a transgender German national.
While the vast majority of illegal crossings happen at the southern border, officials have been warning for years that the northern line has seen an increase. Since President Donald Trump’s second term began last month, highlighted by a nationwide crackdown on criminal aliens, illegal crossings at the southern border have plummeted. As of last week, the daily average of known getaways was down by 93%.
FRUSTRATED CHICAGOANS BACK ICE DEPORTATIONS, APPLAUD DOJ LAWSUIT TARGETING SANCTUARY POLICIES
The New York lawsuit came after the DOJ sued Illinois and Chicago over sanctuary policies.
“Whenever the states refuse to work with federal law enforcement, it hinders public safety,” Garza said. “At the end of the day, the ones that are being impacted here are the communities that we’re trying to protect.”
Former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said it was such a security concern that New York residents would temporarily be unable to apply for or renew their status as trusted traveler programs (TTPs), which includes Global Entry membership.
“This is about the state cutting off information sharing with [Customs and Border Protection] and law enforcement not being able to do their job to properly vet individuals applying for the TTP,” DHS said at the time.
Border Patrol stops have frequently led to arrests of smugglers and known criminals, according to former federal assistant U.S. attorney Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles trial lawyer who early in his career prosecuted cross-border drug traffickers.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I saw many, many arrests that resulted from a CBP traffic stop at the border or a Border Patrol stop in the United States,” he told Fox News Digital. “At the border, we were looking for people who were trying to enter the United States unlawfully with false documents or criminals who were trying to smuggle aliens in the compartments of their vehicle. In the country, we were looking for smugglers who were transporting aliens to stash houses or their final destination in the United States.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
