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Governor Andrew Cuomo Suing Federal Gov’t Over Homeland Ban On New Yorkers

February 7, 2020

ALBANY, NY – From Governor Cuomo: “There is supposed to be a line between politics and government. You’re not supposed to be using government as a political tool… You can’t then use the government to come up with an arbitrary policy that hurts hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to make your political point… And we’re going to sue the federal government; we’re going to disclose this political intrusion into government, this ham-handed political tactic that once again hurts New Yorkers to make their political point.”

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced New York State’s intent to sue the federal government following the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to ban New Yorkers from the Trusted Traveler Program. On June 17, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed the Green Light Law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses in New York, and preventing federal immigration agencies from accessing this Department of Motor Vehicle data. The Trump administration’s politically motivated ban is direct retaliation for New York’s Green Light Law. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have Green Light Laws, but New York is the only state that has been targeted by this administration for retaliation.

The lawsuit which will be brought by New York Attorney General Tish James, will argue that the Federal Department of Homeland Security has violated New York’s sovereign immunity, not provided our residents with equal protection and is acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner that denies the rights and privileges of all New Yorkers. Tish James has also been defending challenges to New York’s Green Light Law.


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