The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it is lifting restrictions on its Trusted Traveler Program for New Yorkers after the state amended its controversial Green Light Law, which DHS had said was a security risk for the program.
“We appreciate the information sharing to CBP for the trusted travel program, which enables DHS to move forward and begin once again processing New York residents under the Trusted Travel Program,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement. “Nonetheless, local New York law continues to maintain provisions that undermine the security of the American people and purport to criminalize information sharing between law enforcement entities.”
NEW YORK MAKES IT FELONY FOR OFFICIALS TO SHARE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DRIVER DATA WITH ICE
The Green Light Law, which went into effect in January, allows illegal immigrants in New York to obtain driver's licenses. But as part of that law, it also banned information sharing between the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) and federal immigration officers. It was later modified to make the sharing of such data a class C felony.
DHS then in February barred New Yorkers from Global Entry and other such TTP programs that allow travelers enjoy expedited processing upon return to the U.S. Wolf said that the law kept Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials from accessing information and made it difficult to determine if applications were eligible.
But in its statement on Wednesday, DHS said that New York has amended the law to allow for information-sharing of records “as necessary for an individual seeking acceptance into a trusted traveler program, or to facilitate vehicle imports and/or exports.” This resulted in DHS lifting its restrictions.
ICE CHIEF RIPS NEW YORK FOR SHARING DRIVER DATA WITH CANADA, BUT NOT US IMMIGRATION
"After the Department of Homeland Security announced the ban on the Trusted Traveler Program for New York residents in February, I immediately met with President Trump at the White House to discuss what -- to the extent that there were bonafide concerns -- needed to be done to address the issue while still protecting the privacy of all New Yorkers," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "Subsequently the matter was dealt with in the state budget passed in April."
"I am glad that this issue has finally been resolved for all New Yorkers," he added.
Proponents of the law said it would make the roads safer by allowing those in the country illegally to drive on the roads legally and safely.
“It’s a public safety issue. So even if you’re not in full compliance with the immigration laws, you can get a driver’s license if you take the test and if you pass the test, because we want to make sure if you are driving, you know what you are doing,” Cuomo said earlier this year.
Wolf indicated on Thursday that DHS opposition to the law would continue however despite the modifications made.
“The Green Light Law ultimately undermines the efforts of law enforcement officers, criminalizing their mission to secure the nation and the American people from threats and furthering the risk to their own lives,” he said. “When jurisdictions like New York fail to cooperate with federal authorities, they operate more like refuges from criminal behavior, not sanctuary havens.”
Fox News' Lissa Kaplan contributed to this report.
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