Yellow, then green light

After a sudden whiplash-inducing stop by Gov. Cuomo, an important piece of legislation got over the finish line last night. The so-called Green Light bill, letting undocumented individuals apply for a standard New York driver’s license, has passed the state Legislature. And Cuomo, a longtime on-paper supporter of the legislation, has agreed to sign it after raising the eleventh-hour possibility he might issue a veto.

The stated reason, after years of supposed support: He said he feared federal immigration officials might use the state’s database to accelerate deportations.

The governor’s belated hand-wringing, withdrawn after Attorney General Letitia James issued her own opinion on the topic, was unwarranted.

In crafting the bill — which would let immigrants without legal residence get the lowestlevel license in the three-tier system — New York legislators learned from 12 other states

that have already done something similar, and included solid data and privacy protections.

The language is explicit: The DMV can only turn information over to federal authorities with a judicial warrant and must then notify a target within three days that a request was made. Moreover, the DMV is prohibited from scanning and storing any source material (i.e. a foreign birth certificate or passport).

All agree that this bill will enable undocumented individuals who are already on the roads to prove who they are, certify they know how to obey the rules of the road, and buy insurance. That’s better for everyone.

Even if there were some way the feds could get ahold of some of the data in question and use it to deport immigrants, the fact remains that under current law, many immigrants on Long Island and upstate are terrified on a daily basis driving to the store or picking up their kids.

How about letting them decide what they fear more?