Federal authorities said this week that the decision to bar New Yorkers from enrolling in programs that expedite border crossings was made in response to the state’s “Green Light Law†that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses and prevents DHS from accessing Department of Motor Vehicle data.
Nothing arbitrary about that. DHS relies on State data for its more extensive travel plans. If the State of New York refuses to share Motor Vehicle data with DHS, then DHS is perfectly within their authority to reject any future applications for non-compliance. A citizen of New York should have the ability to compel the State to release such data on his/her behalf in order to meet such compliance for Nexus, Global Entry, etc. And if the State of New York denies such a request from one of its own citizens, then it will actually be the State of New York who is guilty of the equal protection violation that they accuse the Trump Administration of.
DHS should take the additional step here of no longer allowing New York driver licenses as a form of ID for TSA PreCheck. If a New Yorker wants to use TSA PreCheck, then they will need a US Passport, TWIC card, or some other form of accepted ID.