U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi on Wednesday said the U.S. Department of Justice sued three New York officials over not enforcing federal immigration policies.
Bondi said she sued New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Mark Schroeder, the commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. In particular, Bondi said the state's Green Light Law, which bars the state from sharing vehicle and address information with federal immigration authorities, violates a provision of the U.S. Constitution.
The complaint, filed by the U.S. Justice Department in federal court in Albany, says federal law preempts state and local laws that may conflict with it. It seeks a court order barring New York from enforcing the law.
"This is a new DOJ," Bondi said during a press conference. "We sued Illinois. New York did not listen, now you're next."
Hochul said the complaint was "smoke and mirrors," as the DOJ filed a routine civil action about a law passed in 2019 that has been upheld by the courts time and again.
"Here are the facts: our current laws allow federal immigration officials to access any DMV database with a judicial warrant. That's a common-sense approach that most New Yorkers support," Hochul said. "But there's no way I'm letting federal agents, or Elon Musk's shadowy DOGE operation, get unfettered access to the personal data of any New Yorker in the DMV system like 16-year-old kids learning to drive and other vulnerable people."
James said the Green Light Law, among others, protects the rights of all New Yorkers. "I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have," she said.
The DOJ sued Illinois and Chicago on Feb. 6, noting that the city and state "minimally" enforced federal immigration policies.
Meanwhile, city Comptroller Brad Lander on Wednesday called on Mayor Eric Adams to take legal action against president Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk after $80 million in federal funds that were allotted for migrant shelter services were taken from city coffers.
Lander said the clawback of the funds, originally appropriated from the Federal Emergency Management System during the Biden administration, was "highway robbery" and a betrayal for New Yorkers.
“This morning, my financial team shockingly uncovered that President Trump and his crony Elon Musk illegally executed a revocation of $80 million in congressionally-appropriated FEMA funding from New York City’s bank accounts late yesterday afternoon," Lander said. "This is money that the federal government previously disbursed for shelter and services and is now missing."
The Comptroller said if Adams fails to act, his office would work directly with the law department.
“New York City cannot take this lying down," he said. "I call on the mayor to immediately pursue legal action to ensure the tens of millions of dollars stolen by Trump and DOGE are rightfully returned."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the reversal of the payment in a post on X.
"I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels. FEMA was funding the Roosevelt Hotel that serves as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to house Laken Riley’s killer. Mark my words: there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people," she wrote.
Adams said his legal counsels are looking into the matter.
"This morning, our office learned about the federal government clawing back more than $80 million in FEMA grants applied for and awarded under the last administration, but not disbursed until last week. While we conduct an internal investigation into how this occurred, our office has already engaged with the White House about recouping these funds and we’ve requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible. The Corporation Counsel is already exploring various litigation options," he wrote on X.
