In a transparent attempt to punish the state of New York for its recently implemented Green Light Law, the federal government revealed Wednesday that New York residents can no longer participate in certain trusted traveler programs, including Global Entry.
The Green Light Law, which went into effect in December, allows undocumented immigrants to apply for New York driver’s licenses, and also keeps applicants’ information out of the hands of immigration enforcement.
So it’s easy to see, then, why acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf decided to reveal the new restriction on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program, explaining that in addition to offering IDs to “illegal aliens,” (a “massive security threat to the rest of the country,” says Carlson), he fretted about the law’s provision that bans the DMV from sharing criminal records with ICE and CBP.
“I would say that today, we sent a letter to New York indicating because they took these measures, that New York residents no longer are eligible to enroll in these Trusted Traveler Programs,” he said.
“They can’t enroll or re-enroll in these Trusted Traveler Programs that Custom and Border Protection offers because we no longer have access to make sure that they meet those program requirements. We need to do our job.”
According to CNN, the letter in question states that the Green Light Law will impede ICE’s “objective of protecting the people of New York from menacing threats to national security and public safety.”
Rich Azzopardi, an adviser for Governor Andrew Cuomo, told the station that the state would review the directive and respond accordingly. “This is obviously political retaliation by the federal government and we’re going to review our legal options,” he said.