U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice is suing the state of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James as Donald Trump’s administration targets so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions in his anti-immigration campaign.
“New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops and it stops today,” Bondi said during a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
Bondi announced the action as having “filed charges” against the state’s top officials, though it was not immediately clear what actions the Justice Department is taking, and there were no corresponding court filings in New York or Washington, D.C.
Pam Bondi accused New York of having ‘chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens’ (REUTERS)
The Independent has requested comment from the governor’s office.
Bondi said she is scrutinizing the state’s so-called “green light law” that allows New York residents to obtain driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status. Mark Schroeder, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, is also named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit marks the Republican administration’s second legal action against a Democratic-led state over immigration policies, after federal prosecutors accused the state of Illinois and officials in Chicago last week of attempting to “obstruct” federal immigration laws and trying to “impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe.”
Illinois was “strike one,” according to Bondi. New York is “strike two,” she said.
“If you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next, get ready,” Bondi said.
New York governor Kathy Hochul was named as a target by Bondi (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
James, a frequent target of Trump and his allies following her investigations into the president that yielded a blockbuster fraud ruling, vowed to defend the state’s policies.
“Our state laws, including the Green Light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she said in a statement. “I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have.”
Hochul “has been clear from day one: she supports deporting violent criminals who break our laws, believes that law-abiding families should not be targets, and will coordinate with federal authorities who have a judicial warrant,” press secretary Avi Small said in a statement to The Independent.
“We can’t comment further on a press conference announcing a potential lawsuit that has not yet been filed in any court,” he added.
Unlike the Illinois lawsuit, which targeted Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Bondi is not suing the mayor of America’s largest city.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is facing federal criminal charges for corruption, has curried favor with the president following the 2024 presidential election while cooperating with immigration authorities in what critics have suggested is a quid pro quo arrangement to ensure the case against him disappears.
This week, acting deputy Attorney General Emil Bove instructed federal prosecutors in New York to drop the case against Adams, with a memo that explicitly stated that the Justice Department made its decision without assessing the strength of the evidence against the mayor.
Bove’s memo instead noted the political debate surrounding the case, and that it interferes with “immigration objectives established by President Trump” and his administration.
Bondi told reporters on Wednesday she was unaware that the case against the mayor was still active. It is unclear whether prosecutors have yet moved to dismiss it.
“That case should be dropped. I did not know that it had not been dropped yet, but I will certainly look into that,” she said.
