New York will begin to issue a driver's license to illegal immigrants

Starting December 14, 80 thousand people living in New York State illegally, including 30 thousand people from Long Island, will be able to get a driver’s license. This publication writes Newsday.

The start of this campaign follows years of conflict and an ongoing split between New Yorkers. Proponents say the new law will make roads safer and lead to prosperity for immigrant families; opponents believe that this is nothing more than a tool for terrorists.

This measure, dubbed the Green Light Law, was adopted at the beginning of the 2019 year and was signed by state governor Andrew Cuomo. As a result of this, New York became the 13 state in which a driver's license is issued to those who reside illegally in the United States.

What rights will be granted immigrants

The state will grant immigrants only standard driver's licenses. This means that they will not be able to get truckers or other commercial licenses. Standard licenses will also not comply with federal identification standards, so owners will not be able to use them for boarding aircraft or entering federal facilities. By law, these licenses also "must be visually identical" to the standard licenses issued to US citizens.

The Green Light Act also allows immigrants to apply for licenses for new types of documents. These include: a passport with an unexpired validity period from another country, an identification number of a consulate with an unexpired validity period, and foreign driver’s license whose validity does not exceed 24 months. If the applicant does not have a social security number, he must sign a statement stating that this number was not issued to him.

Even the federal government will need a court order to get these records. The law requires that most of the documentation ultimately be destroyed. The destruction of documents used to obtain a license was caused by a threat from the administration of the US President Donald Trump to use government documents to identify and deport illegal immigrants, the authors of the law said.

Last week, the US Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was still trying to provide final instructions and devices to help authenticate documents. The data was sent by county officials dealing with DMV affairs in the north of the state and department employees who process most license applications from Westchester to Long Island.

On the subject: Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging New York illegal immigrant license

“The DMV provided advance directives to county clerks earlier this week and will conduct a comprehensive training for state and county staff later this week,” Lisa Kumjian, assistant commissioner for communications at the state DMV, said Wednesday, December 4.

Legal issues related to law

Legal issues that may cause the judge to delay the start of the trial remain. However, this became less likely after a court dismissed a key lawsuit by Erie County official Michael Kearns in November. US District Judge Elizabeth Walford in Buffalo stated that local authorities cannot use federal courts to challenge the law simply because they “strongly disagree with the Green Light Act.” Instead, she said, they must prove the damage or apparent threat created by law.

Opponents of the law

Opponents of the law cited the provision of the 9 / 11 Commission, which states: "For terrorists, travel documents are just as important as weapons."

In support of a pending lawsuit filed by a Rensseler County official, the US Department of Justice called the Green Light Act “legally suspicious” and “designed to prevent the federal government from enforcing immigration law.”

District officials threatened to report undocumented immigrants to federal agents. Kearns said earlier that he would place the federal national security telephone line at Erie County licensing offices “so that taxpayers can fight policies that encourage criminal activity.”

Supporter of the law

On Friday, December 5, lawmakers supporting the Green Light Act asked Mark Schroeder, the commissioner for motor vehicles, to put into effect his authority to review license applications if district officials refuse to do this or try to intimidate immigrants who want to get a license.

“A driver's license is a privilege, not a right,” said Republican Assembly Leader Brian Kolb (R-Canandaigua). “But the liberal left in New York has no problem giving privileges to law-abiding citizens to individuals who are currently breaking the law. Officials from across the state have raised strong objections, and some have even challenged the Green Light Act in court. "

According to him, much needs to be clarified regarding court decisions and the peculiarities of their enforcement, but "in the end, this law is fundamentally wrong."

What do New Yorkers think

Most New Yorkers also remain wary of the new law.

A June poll showed that 53% of voters opposed the law and 41% supported it. But the split was sharply biased: 53% of Democrats were in favor, and 82% of Republicans were against. Among non-party voters, 55% were against the law; 41% are in favor.

“Giving a driver's license to undocumented immigrants is a clear threat to public safety and sends the wrong message to hardworking and law-abiding New Yorkers,” said State Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson).

The US Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Newsday’s request for comment and told other media that he had no position on issuing state licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Proponents of the law do not agree that licensing may be related to terrorism, calling it an unwarranted scare tactic. They emphasize that the law will make roads safer, as drivers can get insurance and drive cars, undergo an annual safety audit; also, in their opinion, this will reduce the number of traffic accidents, as immigrants will no longer have to fear deportation due to violation of traffic rules; will allow the families of immigrants to prosper, as well as the state economy.

The Green Light Act is a return to decades of government policy prior to the 11/2001 attacks, ”said Pat Young, director of advocacy for the New York State Immigration Coalition. Before laws were passed by the then government, George Pataki and the state legislature, non-US immigrants could obtain a driver's license following attacks aimed at strengthening public safety. Immigrants with permanent resident status who are not US citizens can still obtain a driver's license under state law.

“This is an old process that is being restored,” Young said. “It will make the state much safer in places like Long Island and Westchester, where there are large numbers of immigrants who want to be able to drive. People will be able to find work away from home, attend school with their children, church. "

A young man living in Hempstead said that today he often observes long columns of immigrants traveling more than a kilometer to attend the Catholic Mass in Spanish. According to him, this can change thanks to the law.

Experience of states in which the law applies

In 2015, California became the 11 state, which granted a driver’s license to illegal residents. One of the few extensive studies on this issue showed that in the first year of the law, the number of accidents in California decreased by 7-10%. According to a study by professors at Stanford University and an immigration group published in one of the national scientific journals, 4000 people were less likely to have road accidents than before the law was passed. According to research estimates, California drivers saved $ 3,5 million in their first year.

Benefits for New York

According to estimates by the New York State Institute of Fiscal Policy, the law will also provide $ 57 million in tax revenues from license fees and car registration fees, and Long Island will receive about $ 26 million per year.

“There is a clear economic benefit when people can get jobs and a social benefit when they can take their children out of school,” said David Dissegard Kallik, director of the Immigration Research Initiative at the Tax Policy Institute.

According to him, this will lead to an increase in living standards, an increase in tax revenues and an improvement in the functioning of local communities. And having a license is especially important in areas where there is no strong public transportation system, such as Long Island.

“The people applying for licenses are just like you and me - community members who are trying to make life better for themselves and their families,” Kallik said.