BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - A federal judge will make a decision on New York's Green Light Law sometime in mid-November after hearing arguments from attorneys representing Erie County and an attorney from the attorney general's office.
The Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants the ability to obtain a New York driver's license, has put Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns between a rock and a hard place, according to Assistant County Attorney Ken Kirby. If Kearns gives an undocumented immigrant a driver's license, he believes he is susceptible for prosecution at the federal level. However, if Kearns refuses to give illegals a license, he faces removal from his office Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Kearns remains opposed to the law citing a supremacy clause that said federal law is above state law.
Mickey Kearns reiterated that he will not enforce New York's green light law. Prior to him speaking, activists said Kearns was politically motivated to do this, something the clerk denies. pic.twitter.com/rGJgBx5R70
— Mike Baggerman (@MikeBaggerman) October 23, 2019Assistant Attorney General Linda Fang argued on behalf of the state, saying Kearns has no standing and would not be implicated by prosecutors.
"The threat of prosecution is not...imminent," she said.
Kearns' attorneys were pressed by Judge Elizabeth Wolford on whether or not the clerk has standing on challenging the law if he faces a threat from federal prosecutors. They argued that if he chose not to enforce the law, he would be removed from office and that Kearns should have the right to assist the federal government.
"If you listened carefully to the state's arguments, they were very intent on trying to avoid a determination on the merits of the Green Light Law," Kirby said. "Instead (they were focused) on technical arguments like standing or capacity."
