A county clerk in New York state said he was filing a lawsuit against a recently passed state law that allows illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, the 13th state in the nation to pass such a measure.
Michael Kearns, the Erie County Clerk, said the state law violates federal law and wants an injunction to block the law while courts review it for legality.
“It’s definitely unconstitutional and it puts the county clerks in New York state in a terrible position. We risk prosecution under federal law because it is a crime to conceal, harbor or shield an illegal alien,” Kearns told Fox on July 9 before filing the suit.
“I took an oath of office to uphold the state constitution and the constitution of the United States, so we do believe it’s a violation of the federal law.”
“New York county clerk files lawsuit challenging law granting illegal immigrants driver’s licenses” https://t.co/SY7L877pDg
— Bobby (@BTBobby) July 9, 2019
He said previously that the law seems to violate the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, a federal law signed by then-president Ronald Reagan, which made it illegal to knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
Kearns wrote a letter to the Erie County Attorney’s Office on June 18 about his views, writing: “As I understand it, this Act requires that, as an agent of the Department of Motor Vehicles, I will be compelled to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.”
“I will not be granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants,” he added. “As the duly elected Clerk of the County of Erie, I took an oath whereby I solemnly swore to ‘support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of New York, and I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Erie County Clerk to the best of my ability.'”
The law, he continued, “puts me and other County Clerks in the untenable position of having to decide whether to uphold federal law or the newly enacted state law.”
Here is the letter Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns sent to Erie County Attorney Michael Siragusa, asking for legal representation in a lawsuit over the state law that gives undocumented immigrants drivers’ licenses. pic.twitter.com/u1QmS4mymH
— Chris Horvatits (@ChrisHorvatits4) June 18, 2019
“I anticipate being sued in either event,” he added, noting his intention to file a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court challenging the law.
The Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act of 2019, also known as the “Green Light Bill,” was passed by New York’s Democratic-controlled state Senate on June 17. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it hours later.
Prior to signing the bill, Cuomo handed it for review to Solicitor General Barbara Underwood to ensure that the identities of illegal immigrants are protected from detection by federal immigration authorities.
Underwood’s boss, Attorney General Tish James, a Democrat, released a statement saying the bill is legally sound.
A recent Siena poll showed that 53 percent of voters statewide opposed the Green Light law, while 41 percent showed support for it.
In addition to concern about granting illegal aliens licenses, some groups expressed concern that the bill would enable the same potential license holders to fraudulently register to vote.
Even one of the bill’s sponsors, Luis Sepúlveda, said the bill could “theoretically” enable illegal immigrants to commit voter fraud.
“Theoretically, [the illegal immigrants] could have the ability to vote,” he said while arguing for the bill during a hearing on June 17, the New York Post reported.
State Sen. Republican Minority Leader John Flanagan expressed concern about the likelihood of more voter fraud, saying that New York state requires just a driver’s license to enroll to vote.
“Since New York does not have voter-identification laws like the majority of other states do, this bill increases the potential for voter fraud,” he said on June 18, according to the news outlet. “This means that New York will soon have the most radical, open-ended law in the entire nation.”
The bill takes effect in about 180 days, meaning illegal immigrants can begin applying for driver licenses in December.
Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
