LatinoJustice Applauds Second Federal Court Decision Dismissing Lawsuit Seeking to Challenge NY’s GreenLight Law
CONTACT: Christiaan Perez, [email protected], 212-739-7581
LatinoJustice is Monitoring Upstate County Clerk’s Processing of Immigrant New Yorkers Applications for Drivers Licenses to Ensure Compliance with the Law. You can read more about how to prepare to apply in English here and Spanish here.
New York, NY – Immigrant New Yorkers across the state are applying for drivers’ licenses in a historic moment after years of community mobilizing and legislative advocacy. LatinoJustice is working closely with the community group members of the GreenLight campaign who led the push for this legislation, and will remain vigilant to ensure full compliance with the law, both the processing and proper adjudication of applications for driver’s licenses as well as ensuring the privacy protection of those applicants as mandated in the GreenLight law. The following is a statement from Jose Perez, Deputy General Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF
“The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York on Friday rejected a lawsuit by Rensselaer County’s Clerk that sought to prevent New York’s newly enacted Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act (DLAPA), more commonly referred to as the “GreenLight Law” from going into effect this week. This the second federal court in New York to reject a politically motivated lawsuit by an upstate NY County Clerk finding that neither the Renssellaer nor Erie County Clerk’s had legal standing to challenge implementation of the GreenLight law permitting non-citizen immigrant NY’ers to apply for a driver’s license. Fourteen other states have already enacted similar laws, and none of those GreenLight laws has been struck down, or encountered the egregious partisan political narratives being spun by the Rensselaer and Erie County Clerks. We hope this court decision will put to rest the specious claims and political rhetoric being brought by a distinct few to amplify their restrictionist anti-immigrant and Latinx agenda.
LatinoJustice PRLDEF will be monitoring those County Clerks who have voiced opposition to implementing the GreenLight law this week to ensure they fulfill their statutory duty and accept and process driver’s license applications from all New Yorkers as mandated by law.
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LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For more than 40 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout New York and beyond. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.latinojustice.org.
Background Documents:
1) GREEN LIGHT LAW – EXPANDED ACCESS TO NYS DRIVER’S LICENSES AND LEARNER’S PERMITS - Know Your Rights English here
2) LEY DE LUZ VERDE ACCESO AMPLIADO A LAS LICENCIAS DE CONDUCIR DEL NYS Y LOS PERMISOS DE APRENDIZAJE - Conoce tus Derechos Español aquí
3) Bilingual Know Your Rights Document here