Trump administration sues NY over ‘Green Light’ law

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against New York state, Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James and Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mark Schroeder.

The lawsuit concerns the state’s “Green Light” law, which has allowed thousands of undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. As part of the law, federal immigration officials are prevented from accessing certain DMV data without a warrant, and drivers are notified when a federal immigration agency requests access to their data. 

In the civil complaint, a copy of which was obtained by City & State, federal prosecutors argue that the Green Light law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which allows federal law to preempt conflicting state laws.

“New York’s Green Light Law violates the Supremacy Clause because it is expressly preempted by Section 1373’s requirement that States ‘not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, [federal immigration officials] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual,’” the complaint reads.

As one example of the government’s authority to control immigration, the complaint cites an 1893 Supreme Court case that allowed the federal government to arrest and deport Chinese immigrants under the Chinese Exclusion Act.

The Justice Department is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction that would prevent the state from enforcing the Green Light law.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, though it has not yet been docketed, assigned to a judge or made available to the public. 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the lawsuit at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday evening. Although she initially announced that she had “filed charges against” Hochul, James and Schroeder, the Justice Department actually filed a civil lawsuit, not criminal charges. 

“What New York has, 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,” Bondi said. “Law enforcement officers do not have access to their background.” 

During the press conference, Bondi claimed that the state law violated the U.S. Constitution. 

“That law is unconstitutional,” she said. “They have a tip-off provision that requires New York’s DMV commissioner to promptly inform any illegal alien when a federal immigration agency has requested their information. … It’s tipping off an illegal alien, and it’s unconstitutional”

In a brief statement responding to the lawsuit, James defended the Green Light law. 

“Our state laws, including the Green Light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she said in a statement. “I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have.” 

Hochul released her own response later Wednesday night. She similarly defended the law, reiterating that immigration officials with judicial warrants can access data under the law. “That's a common-sense approach that most New Yorkers support,” Hochul said. “But there's no way I'm letting federal agents, or Elon Musk's shadowy DOGE operation, get unfettered access to the personal data of any New Yorker in the DMV system like 16-year-old kids learning to drive and other vulnerable people.”

The governor described the new complaint as a “routine civil action” and called Bondi’s press conference announcing it “smoke and mirrors.” Hochul said that the state is “proud that immigrants from across the globe come here searching for a better life,” while also emphasizing that she supports the deportation of violent criminals. 

“We expect Pam Bondi's worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a total failure, just like all the others,” Hochul said. “Let me be clear: New York is not backing down.”

A spokesperson for the DMV referred back to the governor’s statement when asked for comment. Hochul had been expected to travel to Washington on Thursday to meet with the president, according to NY1. But after news of the lawsuit broke, a source familiar with her plans told City & State that the governor had decided to postpone the presidential meeting until next week.

The law has come under fire from President Donald Trump, both during his first term and now, but the federal lawsuit represents a major escalation. In 2020, the Trump administration blocked New Yorkers from applying to Trusted Traveler programs unless the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could access DMV data. Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo allowed limited access for those applying for the program, which solved the problem at the time.

Earlier this year, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan – who is set to meet with New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday – suggested that the federal government would consider blocking vehicles with New York plates from reentering the country from Canada if the law stays in place. The DMV recently defended the “Green Light” law in response to attacks from Homan.

Before the law went into effect, it faced strong opposition from Republicans and even some Democrats. While serving as Erie County clerk in 2007, well before becoming governor, Hochul actively opposed driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants and threatened to arrest undocumented immigrants who tried to apply for a license. Hochul has since said her position evolved on the issue, and she has offered support for keeping the law in place.

In 2019, multiple upstate county clerks filed federal lawsuits seeking to block the law from going into effect, arguing that complying with the state law would violate federal law. Many of the legal arguments that the clerks made in those lawsuits were similar to the arguments that the Justice Department is now making. In those cases, James’ office successfully defended the Green Light law in federal court, and the clerks’ lawsuits were ultimately dismissed.

Read the full complaint here: