Press Releases
02/19/2020
AG Tong Continues Multistate Defense of Immigrant Driver Licenses
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 14 states today, authoring an amicus brief defending the right of states to keep their roads safe by issuing driver’s licenses to residents regardless of federal immigration status.
The case involves a challenge to New York’s Green Light Law by Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns. New York’s law, passed last June, authorizes the issuance of driver’s licenses to state residents without regard to immigration status. The partisan challenge wrongly claims that federal immigration law preempts New York’s state authority to issue those licenses.
The brief, filed by states that similarly offer licenses regardless of immigration status, argues that issuing and regulating personal driving credentials is a traditional and effective exercise of states' constitutionally-protected power to promote residents' safety and health. States have issued driver’s licenses since 1903, and no state conditioned driving on immigration status until 1993.
Connecticut started granting “drive only licenses” in 2015, which allow drivers to use the roads but cannot be used for federal purposes like boarding an airplane. Since then, there have been dramatic decreases in hit-and-run driving and citations for driving without a license.
The multistate coalition filed an initial amicus brief in the case last August with the federal district court for the Western District of New York. That court dismissed the challenge. The case is now before the federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
“Drivers should pass a road test, get a license, and get insurance. That’s what keeps Connecticut residents safe on the roads. Immigration status has nothing to do with it. States like Connecticut and New York are clearly protected by the federal Constitution in making this important policy choice, which measurably improves public safety,” said Attorney General Tong. “This case has already been dismissed by the district court, and we will continue to defend public safety and smart policy through this appeal.”
By passing the Green Light Law last June, New York became the fifteenth state or territory to authorize driver's licenses for immigrants. Right now, 123 million Americans – 37% of all people in the United States – live in a state or territory that issues licenses regardless of immigration status. The New York lawsuit, if successful, could open the door to an unprecedented federal interference with states’ traditional prerogative to grant driver’s licenses.
In addition to New York and Connecticut, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and Washington all credential driver’s without proof of immigration status.
As of August 2019, Connecticut had issued 54,045 “drive-only” licenses. In the years after the law's implementation, hit-and-run accidents statewide fell by nine percent; there has been a 23.7 percent decrease statewide in the number of arrests and citations for driving without a license; and the Drive-Only license program brought in approximately $13.81 million for the state treasury.
Joining Attorney General Tong in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
Special Counsel for Civil Rights Joshua Perry is assisting the Attorney General with this matter.
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