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A federal judge on Tuesday cleared the way for New York’s so-called Green Light Law, ruling against the Trump administration’s effort to block the state from giving people driver’s licenses without requiring proof that they are in the U.S. legally.
U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci found that the Justice Department — which sued New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James in February — had failed to prove its claims that the state law sought to invalidate federal law or that the measure unlawfully regulates or unlawfully discriminates against the federal government.
“As I said from the start, our laws protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” James said in a statement. “I will always stand up for New Yorkers and the rule of law.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi alleged when announcing the lawsuit that Hochul and James were prioritizing “illegal aliens over American citizens,” as the controversial state law blocks federal agents trying to enforce immigration laws from seeing illegal immigrants’ criminal driving records during traffic stops.
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The Justice Department sued New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James in February. (Getty Images)
Nardacci wrote in her ruling that her job was not to evaluate the desirability of the law as a policy matter, but to determine whether the Trump administration’s arguments prove its claims that the statute violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which establishes that federal laws overrule state laws.
The administration has “failed to state such a claim,” Nardacci wrote.
The Green Light Law, also known as the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, was adopted, in part, to improve road safety, as people sometimes drove without a license or without having passed a driving test. Under the measure, it is easier for these license holders to receive auto insurance.
The law states that people who do not have a valid Social Security number can submit alternative forms of ID, including valid passports and driver’s licenses issued in other countries. Applicants must still receive a driver’s permit and pass a road test to qualify for a “standard driver’s license.”
The legislation does not apply to commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
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The DOJ alleged that New York was prioritizing “illegal aliens over American citizens.” (Getty Images)
The DOJ’s lawsuit argued that the law was “a frontal assault on the federal immigration laws, and the federal authorities that administer them,” citing a provision that requires the state’s DMV commissioner to notify people who are in the country illegally when a federal immigration agency has requested their information.
The lawsuit further claimed that it could be easier to enforce the Trump administration’s immigration agenda if federal authorities had unrestricted access to New York’s driver information.
The Green Light Law took effect in 2019, but came under renewed scrutiny following a fatal shootout in Vermont in January that left a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent dead near the northern border with Canada after a traffic stop involving a German national.
“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,” Hector Garza, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Fox News Digital at the time.
A Department of Homeland Security vehicle sits at the southbound entrance to Interstate 91 in Newport, Vt., where a U.S. Border Patrol agent was shot dead during a traffic stop, Jan. 20, 2025. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
“What [the Green Light Law] does, is that it prevents law enforcement agents from getting any type of information in regards to any registrations that the state has,” Garza added. “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.”
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But Nardacci, echoing an appeals court ruling in a county clerk’s earlier challenge to the law, wrote that the information “remains available to federal immigration authorities” through a lawful court order or judicial warrant.
New York is one of a dozen states that allows illegals to drive.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
