New York makes it felony for officials to share illegal immigrant driver data with ICE
A change to New York’s controversial “Green Light Law” means that state officials who share illegal immigrants' driver data with federal immigration enforcement agencies could face a felony charge.
WKBW first reported that the law, which went into effect in January and primarily allows illegal immigrants to receive driver's licenses, was amended as part of the state's 2020 budget and signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April.
The original law went a step further than similar laws in other states by forbidding state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) agencies from sharing data with immigration authorities like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But the new amendment goes even further and makes it a class E felony for officials to share the information.
The law says that anyone who receives or has access to DMV records must certify beforehand that they will not use such records for immigration purposes or disclose them to an agency that primarily enforces immigration law. The amendment says that "violation of such certification shall be a class E felony."
The law also states that any such person must identify any immigration official or entity that received department records or information from any such certifying person or entity. The amendment says that a failure to maintain such records is also a class E felony.
The law also requires that license holders be told within days when immigration enforcement agencies request DMV data -- something law enforcement fears could alert suspects that they are being investigated.
Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence told Fox News in February that the law puts the lives of officers in danger, and prevents groups like ICE and CBP from doing their jobs.
"CBP and ICE are the two entities charged by the federal government to conduct those investigations, and we are no longer able to do so in nearly as effective a fashion as a result of this Green Light Law. It makes us less effective and it puts our agents and officers in greater harm's way," he said.
“Basically [Cuomo] said it was more important... that illegal aliens have drivers’ licenses than it is for his state officers to actually do their jobs and go home safely at the end of the night,” he said.
A change to New York’s controversial “Green Light Law” means that state officials who share illegal immigrants' driver data with federal immigration enforcement agencies could face a felony charge.
WKBW first reported that the law, which went into effect in January and primarily allows illegal immigrants to receive driver's licenses, was amended as part of the state's 2020 budget and signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April.
The original law went a step further than similar laws in other states by forbidding state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) agencies from sharing data with immigration authorities like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But the new amendment goes even further and makes it a class E felony for officials to share the information.
The law says that anyone who receives or has access to DMV records must certify beforehand that they will not use such records for immigration purposes or disclose them to an agency that primarily enforces immigration law. The amendment says that "violation of such certification shall be a class E felony."
The law also states that any such person must identify any immigration official or entity that received department records or information from any such certifying person or entity. The amendment says that a failure to maintain such records is also a class E felony.
The law also requires that license holders be told within days when immigration enforcement agencies request DMV data -- something law enforcement fears could alert suspects that they are being investigated.
Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence told Fox News in February that the law puts the lives of officers in danger, and prevents groups like ICE and CBP from doing their jobs.
"CBP and ICE are the two entities charged by the federal government to conduct those investigations, and we are no longer able to do so in nearly as effective a fashion as a result of this Green Light Law. It makes us less effective and it puts our agents and officers in greater harm's way," he said.
“Basically [Cuomo] said it was more important... that illegal aliens have drivers’ licenses than it is for his state officers to actually do their jobs and go home safely at the end of the night,” he said.
