Controversial New York law, in which federal agents seeking to enforce immigration laws seek to enforce criminal driving records of illegal immigrants while they are stopped, puts law enforcement and American citizens at risk. Yes, the Trump administration is pleading to revoke the law, experts say.
The so-called Greenlight Act, officially known as the Driver's License Access and Privacy Act, came into effect in 2019, but following a fatal shootout in neighbouring Vermont, U.S. customs and border protection. Agents are undergoing new scrutiny after they die near the border. Canada and President Donald Trump ordered a nationwide crackdown on known criminal foreigners at the start of their second term at the White House.
“The information that can help law enforcement do its duties is largely taken away by this green light law,” said Hector Garza, vice president of the Border and Border Patrol Council.
The “green light” has two important functions. One is to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The other is that patrol agents for Homeland Security, Immigration, Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol block access to New York driver records, including records of felony and misdemeanors.
Bondi announces new lawsuits against states allegedly failing to comply with immigration lawsuits
Border Patrol agents are monitoring roads near the Canadian-US border in Moores Fork, New York on January 23, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Osorio)
“This is preventing law enforcement from obtaining all sorts of information regarding the registrations the state has,” Garza said. “For example, before engaged in a traffic stop, law enforcement agencies usually always carry out vehicle registration checks to see if there is a warrant to check if the person is armed and deemed dangerous. Masu.”
That information will help agents make informed decisions while approaching the vehicle before they begin to stop.
“You might actually ask for additional backups,” he said. “For example, you may not want to attract someone close to a school or a community where there may be a lot of traffic, and you may want to stop more traffic in town.
Illegal coyotes touted at Canadian border amid Trump's crackdown on immigration: Report
Attorney General Pam Bondy (AP Photo/Ben Cartis)
“They have a law of green light, which means they are giving green light to illegal foreigners in New York, where if law enforcement officers pull them, We can't check their identities,” Attorney General Pam Bondy said last week. “And law enforcement officers don't have access to their background, and if these great men and women don't get to get to the background, they don't know who they're dealing with. Every day. line.”
New York is one of 12 states that allow illegals to drive, but what sparked concern is a provision blocking access to the motor vehicle sector.
Daily average of known gota away at Southern Border Plummet, down 93% from Biden management's highest
Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, and Governor Kathy Hochul (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Lightrocket via Getty Images)
The Justice Department sued a group of Empire leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the state's Director of Motor Vehicles. Information from the agent.
“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi said at a press conference last week. “New York has chosen to prioritize Illegal Aliens From American citizens. It will stop. It's stopping today. ”
In a statement, James vowed to fight the lawsuit.
People lined up outside the New York State Automobile Bureau office in Medford on January 31, 2020. The long line was attributed to the “green light” that allowed illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses. (Yeong-ung Yang/Newsday Getty Images)
Border Patrol Agents murdered in Vermont have been identified
“Our state laws, including the Greenlight Act, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she said. “I'm ready to follow our laws, as always.”
Advocates of the law argue that if an illegal immigrant driver obtains a state license, the roads will be made safer, as they pass their driver's licenses. But law enforcement members see it differently.
“We target people with very serious and dangerous criminal records, those convicted of serious crimes. These are the people we want,” Garza said. . “So whenever we're doing record checks on our vehicles, that's the information we're looking for so that we can target people who are threatening to society.”
National Border Patrol Council Vice President Hector Garza will speak at the White House on January 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Hochul called the DOJ case “valueless” and said federal agents could access state DMV records with warrants.
But that process could be too late to assist agents who run traffic stops on the field, like David Malland, a 44-year-old Border Patrol agent killed in Vermont on January 20th. there is. The surviving suspect in Malan's death is a computer science student, and is said to be part of a gender-raising anarchist cult linked to six murders in three states. Also, it was a transgender German citizen who was killed in the shootout.
Border Patrol Agents will place the robotic devices on Southbound Route 91 near Newport, Virginia, after another Border Patrol Agent was shot dead on January 20, 2025. (David McGlynn from Fox News Digital)
Most of the illegal crossings occur at the southern border, but authorities have been warning for years that the North Line has been on the rise. President Donald Trump's second term began last month and has seen an unlawful intersection at the southern border plunge since it was highlighted by a nationwide crackdown on criminal foreigners. As of last week, the average daily known vacations was 93% down.
Annoyed Chicagoan praises DOJ lawsuit targeting the sanctuary policy by leaving the ice
The New York lawsuit comes after the DOJ sued Illinois and Chicago over sanctuary policies.
“Every time a state refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement, it hinders public safety,” Garza said. “At the end of the day, what's affected here is the community we're trying to protect.”
Chad Wolf, former Homeland Security secretary, said New York residents are unable to temporarily apply or renew their status as a Trusted Traveler Program (TTPS), including Global Entry Membership.
“This is about the state cutting off sharing information. [Customs and Border Protection] And law enforcement agencies cannot do their job to properly inspect individuals applying for TTP,” DHS said at the time.
Border Patrol stops frequently lead to the arrests of smugglers and known criminals, former federal US lawyer Neema Ramani charged a drug trafficker who crossed the border early in his career. He is a trial lawyer in Los Angeles.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“We saw a lot of arrests that arise from CBP traffic stops at the border or border patrol stops in the US,” he told Fox News Digital. “At the border, we were looking for people who were trying to illegally enter the United States with false documents or criminals trying to smuggle aliens on car plots. In the country, we were looking for smuggling aliens. You were looking for a home or your final destination in the US.”
Louis Casiano of Fox News contributed to this report.
