Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul railed against Republican President Donald Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi for the "worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit" against the state.
Trump's newly sworn-in AG held a press conference Wednesday night announcing that the Justice Department was taking legal action against New York officials for allegedly failing to enforce federal immigration law.
With raid agents standing alongside her at the presser, Bondi announced the lawsuit against the state of New York and top officials, including Attorney General Letitia James and the state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) head Mark Schroeder.
The lawsuit specifically targets New York's Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act,–a.k.a. the "Green Light Law." The provision allows New Yorkers to apply for a driver's license regardless of legal status and bars federal immigration agencies from accessing personal information.
"New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over New York citizens," Bondi stated, adding, "It stops. It stops today."
Bondi repeatedly claimed she had brought "charges" against Hochul, James, and Schroeder, and concluded the presser with an intimidation tactic, saying:
"This is a new DOJ. We sued Illinois. New York did not listen, now you're next."
At the time of the announcement, the lawsuit had not been filed, to which Hochul stated:
"We can't comment further on a press conference announcing a potential lawsuit that has not yet been filed in any court."
Legal expert Elie Honig called the lawsuit announcement "the result of incompetence."
"It is 101 when you're announcing a case as a prosecutor. You don't get out there, announce it, and then file it later…To have it go hours without filing anything is completely inexplicable," Honig said.
Here is a CNN report on Bondi's announcement.
While Bondi claimed she "filed charges" against the state, the matter was a civil lawsuit not a criminal one, according to New York Magazine.
Hochul issued a statement commenting on the "dramatic media briefing."
It read:
"Hours later, when legal papers were shared with reporters, we learned this was smoke and mirrors: the Department of Justice was filing a routine civil action about a law passed in 2019 that has been upheld by the courts time and again."
"Here are the facts: our current laws allow federal immigration officials to access any DMV database with a judicial warrant. That's a common-sense approach that most New Yorkers support."
"But there's no way I'm letting federal agents, or Elon Musk's shadowy DOGE operation, get unfettered access to the personal data of any New Yorker in the DMV system like 16-year-old kids learning to drive and other vulnerable people."
People weighed in and did not have much good to say about Bondi's tactics here.
Hochul continued in her statement:
"New York is proud that immigrants from across the globe come here searching for a better life—people like my grandparents who left Ireland looking for the American dream."
"We welcome law-abiding individuals who want to work, pay taxes and contribute to our communities, while at the same time protecting the public safety of all New Yorkers by cracking down on violent criminals."
The Governor added:
"We expect Pam Bondi's worthless, publicity-driven lawsuit to be a total failure, just like all the others."
"Let me be clear: New York is not backing down."
New York Attorney General Letitia James also released a statement, expressing she was prepared to defend "our state laws, including the Green Light law" and protect the rights of all New Yorkers.
Hochul's expected meeting with Trump in Washington on Thursday has been postponed until next week to allow for her administration to review the legal action taken by the Justice Department.
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