A federal judge has upheld New York’s Green Light Law. This comes as a setback to the Trump administration’s attempt to block the state from issuing driver’s licenses to residents who are unable to prove lawful immigration status.
In a ruling issued Tuesday in Albany, U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci dismissed the federal government’s challenge, finding that it failed to show the law violates federal authority or improperly interferes with immigration enforcement. The case was on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department under President Donald Trump as part of his broader immigration crackdown.
Nardacci wrote that the administration did not demonstrate that New York’s statute overrides federal law or unlawfully targets the federal government. Her decision rejected claims that the measure conflicts with the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
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The lawsuit, filed in February, named Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James as defendants. At the time, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused state leaders of favoring noncitizens over Americans. She said the law put “illegal aliens over American citizens.”
James welcomed the ruling, saying it reaffirmed the state’s authority to protect residents and uphold public safety. “As I said from the start, our laws protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she said in a statement Friday. “I will always stand up for New Yorkers and the rule of law.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, AP indicated in a report.
In her 23 page opinion, Nardacci emphasized that the court’s role was not to weigh the policy merits of the Green Light Law. Instead, she said the task was to determine whether the federal government had shown that the law violated constitutional limits. She concluded it had not.
The judge, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote that the administration had “failed to state such a claim.”
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New York enacted the Green Light Law to improve road safety by allowing people without legal status to obtain standard driver’s licenses. State officials argued that the policy reduces unlicensed driving, encourages insurance coverage, and lowers the number of uninsured motorists on the road.
Under the law, applicants without Social Security numbers may submit alternative identification, including valid foreign passports or licenses issued by other countries. They must still pass written and road tests to qualify. The licenses cannot be used for commercial driving.
The Justice Department argued the law undermined federal immigration enforcement, calling it “a frontal assault on the federal immigration laws, and the federal authorities that administer them.” It also objected to a provision requiring the state’s motor vehicle commissioner to notify individuals when federal immigration officials request their personal information.
The dispute affirmed a previous clash during Trump’s first term. In 2020, the administration moved to bar New Yorkers from participating in trusted traveler programs, forcing longer airport screening times, in an effort to pressure the state into changing the law.
Then, Governor Andrew Cuomo offered limited access to driving records but refused to allow immigration officials to view lists of applicants who had obtained licenses under the law. After a brief legal battle, federal authorities restored New Yorkers’ access to the program.
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In the latest case, the administration argued that broader access to driver data would make it easier to carry out federal immigration priorities. Nardacci disagreed, citing earlier appellate rulings and noting that federal agencies can still obtain such information through court orders or judicial warrants.
