The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that it would no longer let New York residents enroll in its “trusted traveler” programs because of a new state law that blocked federal immigration officials from accessing motor vehicle records.
In a three-page letter, DHS said the legislation, dubbed the “Green Light” law, prevents federal agencies from protecting residents from “menacing threats to national security and public safety.”
New Yorkers will not be able to enroll in “Trusted Traveler Programs,” which allow people to cut through long lines at airports if they pass a pre-clearance with the Department of Homeland Security. Participants are granted expedited processing after international travel through the Global Entry program; from Canada through the NEXUS program; and from Canada and Mexico through the SENTRI program.
However, TSA PreCheck was not among the Trusted Travelers Programs impacted by the order.
The sweeping move came a day after President Donald Trump slammed New York, a sanctuary city, in his State of the Union address. Sanctuary cities are localities that provide added protection to immigrants and refuse to cooperate with federal officials, and federal law enforcement which has only escalated since Trump took office.
The law, which went into effect in December, allowed people without legal permission to be in the United States to apply for driver’s licenses. It also included a provision prohibiting state DMV officials from providing any of its data to entities that enforce immigration law unless a judge orders them to do so.
The law blocks U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which patrols the U.S.-Canada border in New York and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from obtaining the vehicle’s owners information.
Chad Wolf, acting head of the Homeland Security Department, called New York’s new law “disappointing” during a Fox News interview late Wednesday night. He said the suspension of the programs, used by travelers to quickly move through customs and security at airports, was effective immediately.
“In New York alone, last year ICE arrested 149 child predators, identified or rescued 105 victims of exploitation and human trafficking, arrested 230 gang members, and seized 6,487 pounds of illegal narcotics, including fentanyl and opioids,” Wolf wrote in the letter. “In the vast majority of these cases, ICE relied on New York DMV records to fulfill its mission.”
“They (New York residents) can’t enroll or reenroll in these trusted traveler programs that customs and border protections offers because we no longer have access to make sure that they meet those program requirements,” he said.
A senior adviser to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, said the move by DHS was politically motivated.
“This is obviously political retaliation by the federal government and we’re going to review our legal options,” Azzopardi said.
Cuomo, a Democrat, approved the Green Light law last summer, allowing individuals to use foreign-issued documents to prove their age and identity so they can apply for driving privileges. Lawmakers and Cuomo became worried that ICE and CBP would be able to easily obtain information about people seeking a license, and possibly making it easier for them to be deported.
(AP)
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6 Responses
The state is woefully wrong here, and I am confident that any court would conclude the same. ICE and CBP are not prowling looking for illegals in United States, though it is a valid argument that perhaps they should. They are only looking for those with criminal records and with arrests for serious crimes that occur here. NO, they don’t care about a parking ticket or jumping a turnstile. They are after gang members, and those who perpetrate serious crimes. No politician should be protecting them or denying the federal government their enforcement of public safety. If there is a single issue that should disqualify anyone from political office, it would be the indifference to human safety. I wish Cuomo and those who follow his policies a speedy retirement from public service. It is NYS that is playing political games, not the Feds.
Vote Republican.
As politically motivated as trump’s call to zelensky and withholding of military aid. It’s because he doesn’t get New York’s votes overwhelmingly. He would never allow this say in Houston, Texas.
Does that affect only new enrollees or also those of us who are already enrolled in the Global Entry program?
Gevalt!!!!
Does this mean that elite New Yorkers returning from their European ski vacations will have to stand on line with the unwashed masses to go through customs and immigration? Outrageous!
The move by DHS was politically motivated, huh? What about NY’s stupid law that brought all this about? It was a sop to illegals, who, of course, would vote the D-ticket. Cuomo, like his father, is such an insipid moron.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. When leftist states choose illegal immigrants over their own citizens, and flout federal law, the federal government can take any steps it deems necessary. Keep it up NY. We’re all sick of living here. You’re already on par with S’dom.