(filed February 12, 2025)
U.S. v. State of New York, et al. - The Trump Administration sued the state of NY, the Governor, NY Attorney general, and the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for its 2019 Vehicle and Traffic Law § 201.12 (known as the Green Light Law) and its amendments from 2020 that prohibits sharing records with ICE and CBP (it does not include a restriction on sharing citizenship and immigration status but does limit sharing information like place of birth and country of origin), requires notice if information is requested of a person, and requires non-use for civil immigration enforcement purposes certification of those who have access to records. The government argued that the law is preempted by federal immigration law, impermissibly regulates the federal government, and impermissibly discriminates against the federal government. On December 23, 2025, a federal court granted the state of NY’s motion to dismiss since 1) the law only prohibits inquiry by state officials regarding the citizenship or immigration status of standard-license applicants, 2) courts have consistently upheld similar information-sharing restrictions, 3) the possibility of frustrating federal enforcement priorities “is not enough to provide a basis for preemption,” 4) the law allows sharing through a lawful court order or judicial warrant, and 5) the law does not provide more favorable treatment to any actors that are similarly situated to the federal government and the law provides disclosure to the federal government in certain situations. In its decision, the federal court rejected the government’s interpretation that the term “regarding” in 8 USC § 1373 includes all matters relating to citizenship or immigration status. On February 20, 2026, the government appealed the decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (No. 26-387). The federal case is ongoing.