Buffalo, N.Y. (AP) — The trusted traveler showdown took center-stage Monday as the U.S. Attorney for Western New York as well as officials from Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol gathered at the Peace Bridge to discuss New York's Green Light Law. The law is the basis for a Federal decision to suspend the trusted traveler program for New York State residents and the subject of a heated political debate.
Following is the text of a joint statement signed by four US Attorney's across New York State:
RECONSIDERING THE GREEN LIGHT THAT STOPS LAW ENFORCEMENT
By: James P. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York
Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York,
Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,
Grant C. Jaquith, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, and
While the New York State Green Light Law provides undocumented aliens the opportunity to obtain New York State Driver Licenses, a less heralded – though perhaps more impactful – provision of the statute prevents the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from sharing information with any agency that enforces immigration law. Unfortunately, this provision has a much broader adverse effect on law enforcement and public safety.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for protecting us from terrorism, securing our borders while facilitating lawful travel and trade, and combating a host of crimes that threaten our safety and security. The Green Light Law impedes Homeland Security’s ability to conduct active criminal investigations involving citizens and non-citizens who are lawfully present in the United States, not just those who are undocumented. On a daily basis, Homeland Security agents and officers – including sworn law enforcement officers who work for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Border Patrol, and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) – use Department of Motor Vehicles information to assist them in stopping transnational criminal organizations, cybercrime, and offenses involving drug trafficking and money laundering; murder, sexual assault, and other crimes of violence; racketeering and extortion; the illegal use and possession of firearms; economic espionage, telemarketing fraud, and elder fraud; human trafficking; and child exploitation, as well as illegal immigration.
Like other federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, DHS agents seek New York State DMV information for a variety of purposes, including: (1) to obtain identification, address, and vehicle registration information for individuals committing crimes; (2) to identify and apprehend dangerous defendants and fugitives wanted by state or federal authorities; (3) to conduct surveillance of individuals suspected or known to be engaged in the commission of crimes; (4) to establish the probable cause necessary to secure search and arrest warrants; (5) to identify crime victims and potential crime victims; (6) to identify the proceeds of crime to increase the amount of restitution recoverable for crime victims; (7) to make informed determinations regarding whether, when, where, and how to stop a vehicle, to minimize the risk to occupants, officers, and others; and (8) to assist in determining whether to grant individuals presenting themselves at ports of entry admission into the United States.
The disturbing truth is that under the newly enacted statute, the Customs and Border Protection Officers working today at New York’s 13 ports of entry – which include both the busiest port on the entire northern border of the United States (the longest land border in the world), and the busiest international air passenger gateway into North America – are unable even to check the registration or the driver’s license status of individuals presenting themselves for admission into our country. Border Patrol Agents, who secure the border between the ports of entry, likewise can no longer check vehicle or driver’s license information. Forcing officers who serve as our nation’s frontline defense against dangerous criminals entering the country to make these important determinations in the dark dramatically diminishes the safety of all. Ensuring that HSI Agents and ERO officers must blindly interact with people who may be terrorists or other violent criminals, drug dealers, human traffickers, or child predators likewise poses a grave risk to the safety of the officer, the person, and the public. In most instances, there simply is no time to pause the situation to obtain a court order or judicial warrant.
Prohibiting basic information sharing between New York State and federal law enforcement agencies means that more criminals will enter and roam freely in our state and nation; undermines the cooperative relationships between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement; thwarts and curtails investigations into serious crimes; and jeopardizes the safety of all of the inhabitants of our great country. Our citizens, lawful permanent and temporary residents, visitors, and undocumented immigrants deserve better, and so do those who serve and protect them. Restoring collaboration and information sharing furthers our effort to secure justice for all, preserve public safety, protect individual rights, and promote due process, bringing us ever closer to a sanctuary built on the rule of law and fairness for everyone.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Tom Reed and even Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown have weighed-in on the controversy.
Banning New Yorkers from the Trusted Traveler Program is a politically motivated form of extortion.It's hurting New Yorkers in order to advance the Trump administration's political agenda.We're going to fight back. pic.twitter.com/Gh9BONiyHK
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo)
February 8, 2020 Friday it was announced that New York state will file a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security's decision to block New Yorkers from participating in “trusted traveler programs” in retribution for a new state law that could hinder federal immigration enforcement, officials said Friday.
“It's an abuse of power. It's extortion. It is hurting New Yorkers to advance their political agenda. And we're going to fight back," Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said at a news conference in New York.
The lawsuit is the latest salvo in an escalating fight over immigration policy between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in his home state.
In December, a new state law took effect allowing New York residents to apply for driver's licenses without having to prove they are in the U.S. legally. Part of that law also sought to protect immigrants in the country illegally who applied for the new licenses by prohibiting the state's Department of Motor Vehicles from giving records to federal immigration agents.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security retaliated, saying it would no longer allow New Yorkers to enroll, or renew their membership in, certain federal programs that make it easier for people traveling internationally to get through border security, including Global Entry.
In announcing the change, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said New York had endangered public safety by barring federal agents from quickly accessing vehicle and criminal records to check for fugitive warrants or confirm someone's identification.
The ouster is expected to affect at least 175,000 New Yorkers now enrolled in the programs, who will be kicked out as their permits expire, plus around 30,000 commercial truck drivers enrolled in a program that eases their crossings into the U.S. from Canada.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will oversee the lawsuit, called their removal from the program “political retribution, plain and simple.” In the suit, she will argue that the Trump administration's action is arbitrary and has violated New York's sovereign immunity and the equal rights and privileges of all New Yorkers.
"Time and time again President Trump and his Washington enablers have gone out of their way to hurt New York and other blue states whenever they can as punishment for refusing to fall in line with their dangerous and divisive agenda,” James said in a statement.
Cuomo called the move to block New Yorkers a “joke” Friday and said the president could simply ask the FBI for criminal records in New York.
Several other states have similar policies of allowing immigrants in the country illegally to get driver's licenses, but New York is the only state that bans the sharing of motor vehicle records with immigration agents, Department of Homeland Security officials said.
Trump has been singling out New York in recent months for especially harsh criticism over so-called sanctuary policies for immigrants.
The president assailed New York City officials in his State of the Union address over its policy of not turning over some criminal defendants wanted for immigration violations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also recently sent subpoenas to law enforcement in Denver and New York seeking information on immigrants they hope to deport.
The Trusted Traveler/NEXUS Programs for travel between the US and Canada is a key reason why WNY has a bi-national economy. I join @NYGovCuomo in calling on the president to rescind this decision and demand @TomReedCongress to join us, not encourage it. https://t.co/BUUQ3bP4BP pic.twitter.com/tDuQquSDLe
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz)
February 9, 2020
