Attorney General Bonta Defends Against Latest Trump Administration Attempt to Compel States to Participate in Civil Immigration Enforcement

Files amicus brief in support of New York’s Green Light Law 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition, filed an amicus brief in defense of New York’s Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, or “Green Light Law.” This law restricts the New York Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) disclosure of drivers’ personal information to immigration enforcement agencies absent a court order or judicial warrant. The Trump Administration filed a lawsuit challenging the law, and a district court granted New York’s request to dismiss the complaint, rejecting the Trump Administration’s “sweeping” interpretation of 8 U.S.C. § 1373 and holding that the statute applies only to information about an individual’s citizenship or immigration status. The Trump Administration subsequently appealed the decision. In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that states like New York have reasonably concluded that disentangling their state from civil immigration enforcement promotes public safety and public trust and that these types of state laws are constitutional and do not impede federal immigration enforcement.   

“The Trump Administration continues to try to bully states for choosing to use their limited resources to promote public safety rather than assist in federal civil immigration enforcement,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Time and time again, the Trump Administration’s distorted view of our Constitution has been firmly rejected by courts — and time and time again, the Trump Administration has found new ways to waste taxpayer dollars on fruitless legal fights. New York’s Green Light law is a thoughtful exercise of state authority to protect the safety and well-being of its residents. As Attorney General, I will always stand up for public safety and the rights of our immigrant communities and support states that do the same.” 

New York’s Green Light Law (1) prohibits DMV from disclosing certain personal information and records to any agency that primarily enforces immigration law absent a court order or judicial warrant; (2) requires DMV, within three days of receiving a request for information from an agency that enforces immigration law, to notify the subject of the request; and (3) mandates that DMV require any person that accesses its information or records to certify that they will not use it for civil immigration purposes. In dismissing the Trump Administration’s lawsuit, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that the Green Light Law is a lawful exercise of state authority to regulate the conduct of its officials and that it does not infringe on or impede federal immigration statutes. 

In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to uphold the lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing that: 

• States like New York have reasonably concluded that limiting the use of state and local resources in civil immigration enforcement promotes public safety.
• State laws like New York’s are constitutional and do not serve as obstacles to the implementation of federal law, and the United States’s contrary argument raises serious Tenth Amendment concerns.
• New York’s law neither directly regulates the federal government nor impermissibly discriminates against it.

California has a number of laws that limit the use of state and local resources in civil immigration enforcement. Shortly before President Trump returned to office, Attorney General Bonta issued a package of updated bulletins and new guidance to assist state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and defense counsel in complying with state law as California prepares for new threats to its immigrant communities. The Attorney General has also released a number of guidance documents to help California immigrants better understand their rights and protections under the law and assist state and local agencies, TK-12 schools, and childcare providers and preschool programs comply with new state laws. The full set of resources, available in multiple languages, can be accessed at oag.ca.gov/immigrant/. 

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

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