Happy New Year! Trump administration seeks review of state DMV laws on immigration enforcement

For a number of years, California law has allowed undocumented immigrants to be eligible for driver’s licenses.  With the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement efforts, immigrants have been fearful that the administration would use state driver’s license records in removal efforts.

The Associated Press (and here) reports that Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is taking aim at new laws in New York, New Jersey and other states that allow undocumented immigrants to be eligible to obtain driver’s licenses and restrict data sharing with federal authorities.

Wolf sent a memo requesting a department study on how the laws affect its enforcement efforts for both immigration and other investigations into human trafficking, drug smuggling and counterterrorism. New York as the 13th state to authorize licenses for drivers without legal immigration status; most of the other states also restrict data sharing.

KJ