Federal appeals court rejects challenge to New York law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses News
Nanira / Pixabay
Federal appeals court rejects challenge to New York law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday rejected a lawsuit seeking to nullify a New York law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Under New York law, applicants can apply for “standard licenses.” Under the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has to accept various foreign documents for proof of age and identity, and it cannot inquire about the immigration status of standard-license applicants. Applicants can also submit an affidavit that they have not been issued a social security number.

Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns filed suit in 2019 challenging the law. He argued that it was unconstitutional because it was preempted by and conflicts with federal law. He also argued that clerks would be faced with the impossible task of choosing between following state law and risking federal law violation.

In November 2019 the lower court concluded that Kearns suffered no concrete, particularized injury and had failed to plead an injury to his office. The court had found that Kearns was not the proper plaintiff to litigate the claims. Similarly, the appeals court on Monday did not reach the merits of the case, determining that Kearns lacked standing to bring the suit.

The Second Circuit found that Kearns’ hypothesized injury was not “actual or imminent” because issuing standard licenses did not conflict with federal law. The REAL ID Act permitted states to issue non-compliant licenses without verifying immigration status. Standard licenses also have the words “Not For Federal Purposes” included on them, so they could not be used “to deceive federal immigration authorities.” Kearns also would not be subject to prosecution, because he was acting in a “purely ministerial capacity.”

Kearns also asserted that no lawfully present person in the US would apply for the standard license, which the court rejected as “plainly incorrect.” There were many instances in which a lawfully present person would apply for a standard license, including individuals without social security numbers and international students on visas.

Because Kearns lacked standing, the court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the suit.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Seventeen tried in Stalin purge

On January 23, 1937, seventeen of Joseph Stalin's political enemies went on trial in Moscow during the Soviet leader's Great Purge. This trial of seventeen represented the second of the three "Moscow Trials" in which prominent Soviet leaders were accused and convicted of conspiring to overthrow the Soviet state under Article 58 of the RSFSR Penal Code. The defendants were sentenced to execution or deportation to work camps.

24th Amendment to US Constitution ratified

On January 23, 1964, the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified. Learn more about the 24th Amendment and poll taxes from the National Constitution Center.