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A sweeping lawsuit accuses the Empire State of adhering to policies that protect undocumented immigrants at the expense of public safety, new US Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
“This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans,” Bondi said Wednesday, Feb. 12, standing alongside law enforcement officials and Tammy Nobles, an “angel mom" whose daughter was killed by an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops today.”
The crux of the lawsuit centers on New York’s “Green Light” law, which allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses while ensuring that federal immigration authorities cannot access DMV records without a judicial warrant. Bondi specifically criticized the law’s “tip-off provision,” which requires the DMV to notify individuals if federal immigration officials request their information.
“That’s tipping off an illegal alien, and it’s unconstitutional,” Bondi said. The lawsuit also names DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder.
Bondi argued that such policies provide a “green light” for violent criminals, gang members, and drug traffickers to operate without fear of deportation or accountability.
“Millions of illegal aliens with violent records have flooded into our communities, bringing violence and deadly drugs with them,” Bondi claimed. “If you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable.”
The Justice Department’s lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions targeting state and local policies perceived as being in conflict with federal immigration enforcement. Bondi warned that other states with similar policies should brace for federal intervention.
“If you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next. Get ready,” she said. “Violent criminals, gang members, drug traffickers, and human smugglers will no longer terrorize the American people,” she said. “It’s over, it ends, and we’re coming after you.”
The Justice Department did not immediately release a copy of the lawsuit.
Gov. Hochul brushed off the move as a "routine civil action," saying the state law in question has been upheld multiple times in court.
"Here are the facts: our current laws allow federal immigration officials to access any DMV database with a judicial warrant. That's a common-sense approach that most New Yorkers support. 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," Hochul said.
"We expect Pam Bondi's worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a total failure, just like all the others. Let me be clear: New York is not backing down."
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