KEY POINTS

  • DHS said a New York law preventing Customs and Border Protection from using motor vehicle records interferes with national security
  • About 50,000 New Yorks have Trusted Traveler applications pending
  • 14 states and the District of Columbia have laws granting driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants but New York has been singled out

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Friday she would sue the Department of Homeland Security over its decision to keep New Yorkers out of the Trusted Travelers Program because of the state’s sanctuary status.

“This is political retribution, plain and simple, and while the president may want to punish New York for standing up to his xenophobic policies, we will not back down,” James said in a press release.

DHS barred New Yorkers from enrolling and reenrolling in its Trusted Travelers Program, including Global Entry, on Tuesday, citing what it called the state’s “ill-conceived” Green Light Law, which prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from cooperating with immigration agents. Acting DHS Secretary said Customs and Border Protection needs access to the files for national security reasons.

He says border patrol uses “DMV data to make an evidence-based assessment that those individuals who seek this benefit are low risk and meet the eligibility requirements. Without the DMV information we aren’t able to make that assessment.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, however, rejected the reasoning.

“The Department of Homeland Security’s decision to ban New Yorkers from the Trusted Traveler Program is yet another example of this administration’s disrespect of the rule of law, hyper-partisan politics and use of extortion,” Cuomo tweeted.

Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws that allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

“We’re going to disclose this political intrusion into government, this ham-handed political tactic, that once again hurts New Yorkers to make their political point,” Cuomo told a Friday press conference in Manhattan.

The New York Times said the DHS order would affect 50,000 state residents whose applications are pending. It does not affect people currently in the program. Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program does not appear to be affected.

“We will not allow New Yorkers to be targeted or bullied by an authoritarian thug,” James said.

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