NEW YORK, CMC—New Governor Kathy Hochul and Legal professional Normal Letitia James say they’re “not backing down” in defending a “frivolous” lawsuit by US Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda involving Caribbean immigrants.
Bondi introduced on Wednesday that Trump’s Division of Justice (DOJ) is suing New York State—together with Hochul, James, and the New York Division of Motor Car (DMV) Commissioner—for restricted native collusion with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) company.
This lawsuit features a problem to New York’s Inexperienced Mild legislation, which permits New Yorkers, no matter immigration standing, to acquire a driver’s license.
“We did it to Illinois. Strike one. Strike two is New York, and when you’re a state that doesn’t adjust to federal legislation, You’re subsequent,” Bondi declared in a televised press convention on Wednesday.
However Hochul described the lawsuit as “all smoke and mirrors.”
“Earlier right this moment, Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi marched in entrance of the tv cameras for a dramatic media briefing to announce she was submitting expenses in opposition to New York State associated to our immigration legal guidelines. Hours later, when authorized papers have been shared with reporters, we discovered this was smoke and mirrors: the Division of Justice was submitting a routine civil motion a couple of legislation handed in 2019 that has been upheld by the courts repeatedly,” mentioned Hochul.
“Listed below are the info: Our present legal guidelines enable federal immigration officers to entry any DMV database with a judicial warrant,” she added. “That’s a commonsense method that almost all New Yorkers assist. However there’s no manner I’m letting federal brokers, or Elon Musk’s shadowy DOGE (so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity) operation, get unfettered entry to the non-public information of any New Yorker within the DMV system like 16-year-old children studying to drive and different weak individuals.
“New York is proud that immigrants from throughout the globe come right here trying to find a greater life — individuals like my grandparents who left Eire in search of the American dream,” the governor continued. “We welcome law-abiding people who need to work, pay taxes, and contribute to our communities whereas, on the identical time, defending the general public security of all New Yorkers by cracking down on violent criminals.
“We count on Pam Bondi’s nugatory, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a complete failure, identical to all of the others,” Hochul mentioned. “Let me be clear: New York will not be backing down.”
In a terse assertion, James mentioned: “Our state legal guidelines, together with the Inexperienced Mild legislation, defend the rights of all New Yorkers and preserve our communities protected.
“I’m ready to defend our legal guidelines, simply as I all the time have,” she affirmed.
Murad Awawdeh, president and chief government officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), described Bondi’s lawsuit as “an affront to the tenth Modification, which permits States to make and comply with their legal guidelines.
“It would work when Trump bullies Mayor Eric Adams, however he has a a lot poorer monitor file in opposition to fighters for the general public good, like our NYS Legal professional Normal Leticia James, who has overwhelmingly defeated Trump’s earlier assaults on New York,” Awawdeh, whose umbrella group represents over 200 immigrant advocacy group in New York State, informed the Caribbean Media Company (CMC).
“New York’s Inexperienced Mild legislation has been an important public security measure since 2019, permitting for a larger diploma of accountability and safety of each New Yorker utilizing our shared roadways,” he added. “If there was ever a time for New York elected officers to face up for the legal guidelines that preserve all New Yorkers protected, it’s now.
“New York should not be intimidated into submitting to Trump’s merciless mass deportation agenda, which is able to separate households, destabilize our communities, and wreak havoc on our economic system,” Awawdeh continued.
On Tuesday, Adams insisted that he broke no legislation, as Caribbean and different immigration advocates have strongly condemned Trump for intervening in a federal corruption case in opposition to the mayor.
Trump’s DOJ has instructed federal prosecutors within the Southern District Court docket of New York to rescind the costs in opposition to Adams.
Federal prosecutors had indicted the mayor on 5 counts involving bribery conspiracy, fraud, and soliciting unlawful overseas marketing campaign donations.
In a memo dispatched to federal prosecutors, Emil Bove, an erstwhile prosecutor within the Southern District Court docket of New York and the DOJ’s performing second-in-command, instructed that there might be “no additional focusing on of Mayor Adams or extra investigative steps” for now.
In response to the directive, the mayor informed New Yorkers in an tackle on Tuesday that he was relieved that the case was lastly over, “ending a months-long saga that put me, my household, and this metropolis via an pointless ordeal.
“As I mentioned from the outset, I by no means broke the legislation, and I by no means would,” he mentioned. “I might by no means put any private profit above my solemn accountability as your mayor.
“It’s price repeating the info as a result of many sensational and false claims have been made,” he added. “So let me be clear: I by no means requested anybody to interrupt the legislation on my behalf or on behalf of my marketing campaign. And I by no means traded my energy as an elected official for private profit.”
Nevertheless, Awawdeh blasted Trump’s intervention within the corruption case in opposition to the mayor. He accused Adams of betraying Caribbean and different immigrant communities by cozying as much as Trump amid the president’s mass deportation agenda.
“There isn’t any longer any doubt: Eric Adams has bought out immigrant New Yorkers to maintain himself out of jail,” Awawdeh informed CMC. “And he’ll proceed to promote out immigrants and all of New York Metropolis to repay his debt to Trump.
“The extremely uncommon intervention of Trump’s DOJ into this prosecution is additional proof that the president has no regard for justice and can cease at nothing to spare his political allies from dealing with accountability,” he added.
“New Yorkers will preserve paying the worth for the mayor’s callous disregard for our legal guidelines, as Adams appears out for his future as an alternative of the protection and well-being of each New Yorker,” Awawdeh continued.
The New York Civil Liberties Union additionally mentioned, “By dismissing the costs with out prejudice, the Trump administration retains the choice to refile expenses and retains open a channel to exert political stress.
“By giving floor to Trump’s merciless immigration designs, Adams is betraying our communities,” it added in an announcement. “New Yorkers should wonder if the mayor’s pursuits and the town’s at the moment are in indefinite battle.”
Nevertheless, the mayor’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, welcomed the DOJ’s motion. “I mentioned from the outset, the mayor is harmless,” he mentioned briefly. “And he would prevail. At this time, he has.”
