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Rural & Migrant Ministry is once again standing up for the rights of the immigrant community in rural New York, by joining a national coalition of Latino and civil rights organizations in filing an amicus curiae brief (friend of the court) to defend New York State’s Green Light Law in federal court. RMM was a leader in the campaign to pass the law in 2019 and is committed to joining the coalition to defend the law today.
The brief, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, seeks the dismissal of The United States of America v. State of New York et al. This lawsuit, brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, is attempting to strike down the Green Light Law, which gives undocumented individuals across the state the right to obtain standard driver’s licenses.
Some 750,000 immigrants in New York are eligible to apply for driver’s licenses under this law, which ensures the following:
• That application forms do not ask about citizenship or immigration status
• That a driver’s license is not evidence of immigration or citizenship status
• And that license-holders must be notified within three days if their information is requested by federal authorities.
In its argument to strike down the law, the DOJ claims the law illegally requires DMV staff to warn undocumented immigrants when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) makes an inquiry about them.
The remedy sought by the DOJ’s lawsuit would turn the standard license application or renewal process into one with clear immigration consequences — something that was never intended under the law.
RMM is determined to protect our brothers and sisters from this attack, and this is why we have signed on to the amicus brief in partnership with the following organizations:
• LatinoJustice PRLDEF
• Hispanic Federation
• New York Immigration Coalition
• Make the Road New York
We argue that the DOJ’s lawsuit undermines the state’s authority to protect New Yorkers’ privacy and ensure access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status.
Requiring immigration enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before accessing DMV records is essential to protecting individual privacy.
Stripping standard license-holders of protections guaranteed under the Green Light Law undermines their reasonable expectations at the time they applied that their data would not be needlessly disclosed.
In light of this unlawful intrusion, we asked the court to reject the DOJ’s attempt to strike down the law and dismiss the complaint entirely.
“The Green Light Law has transformed the lives of the migrant rural community and has protected the safety of all New Yorkers,” said Juana Cortes de Torres, Esq., Director of RMM’s Immigrant Legal Rights Project. “The law has allowed individuals to take their children to school, provided them access to healthcare, enabled them to shop for food and other necessities, and made it possible for them to drive to jobs performing essential work throughout New York State. The Green Light Law has allowed members of our community to educate themselves on the rules of road, which in turn has a direct correlation to safer roadways, and has increased the feasibility of obtaining auto insurance as required by law. For young rural drivers, it has fulfilled a need caused by a lack of public transportation, allowing them access to higher education.”
We invite you to join us in defending this vital law.
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