President Donald Trump's newly installed attorney general, Pam Bondi, went after New York leaders Wednesday over the state's immigration policies, announcing a lawsuit in the latest effort by the Republican administration to carry out the president's hardline immigration campaign pledges.
New York’s governor at the time, Andrew Cuomo, offered to restore federal access to driving records on a limited basis, but said he wouldn’t let immigration agents see lists of people who had applied for the special licenses available to immigrants who couldn’t prove legal residency in the U.S.
Bondi slammed a provision of the law she said requires New York's Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner to inform people who are in the country illegally when a federal immigration agency has requested their information.
Standing in front of federal agents who have been tasked with helping in Trump's immigration crackdown, she echoed the president's rhetoric as she vowed the Justice Department would take on communities that thwart federal immigration efforts.
In 2020, the Trump administration sought to pressure New York into changing its law by barring anyone from the state from enrolling in trusted traveler programs, meaning they would spend longer amounts of time going through security lines at airports.
