A judge ruled yesterday that state motor vehicle authorities may not deny driver's licenses to immigrants who cannot show that they are in the United States legally.
In a blunt ruling, Justice Karen S. Smith of State Supreme Court in Manhattan chastised the State Department of Motor Vehicles, saying it exceeded its authority in 2002 when it imposed the restriction. She said such decisions were up to state lawmakers.
Justice Smith said she recognized that the department had rushed to implement new rules, which require applicants to present either valid Social Security numbers or legal immigration papers, in an effort to tighten security and combat fraud after Sept. 11. But she said the agency "cannot be an enforcer" for federal Homeland Security authorities. "It simply lacks expertise and, more importantly, it has not been empowered by the State Legislature to carry out that function," the judge wrote.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed on behalf of five immigrants by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. The suit challenged several practices by the Department of Motor Vehicles, including a plan to suspend the licenses of about 252,000 drivers, many of them immigrants, who gave Social Security numbers that were found to be invalid in a department investigation.
Justice Smith's ruling added fuel to an increasingly ardent debate in New York about illegal immigrants' rights. State motor vehicle officials argue that the license crackdown is necessary to stop terrorists and criminals from acquiring legal forms of identification. But New York lawmakers from districts with many immigrants argue that the tighter rules will force those who are illegal to drive without licenses, making it harder to know who is driving on American roads.
Raymond P. Martinez, the state's motor vehicles commissioner, said the agency would appeal the ruling. "By meeting our statutory obligations to ensure that applicants for driver's licenses are who they say they are, New York State is fighting fraud and protecting New Yorkers from terrorism and other criminal acts," he said in a statement. New York's licenses are "among the most secure in the nation," he said.
In practice, Justice Smith's ruling is not likely to have any immediate effect. In February, when she first got the case, she issued a temporary restraining order to block the identification rules. But that order was suspended when the state immediately appealed it. The ruling yesterday, in which she issued a more long-lasting injunction, was a more detailed statement of her legal argument. That ruling will also be suspended during the state's appeal.
The ruling could put New York on a collision course with a bill that is expected to pass Congress and be signed by President Bush, perhaps by the end of the week. The Real ID act, as it is known, in effect will require states to identify illegal immigrant drivers. The act, which was passed by the House on Thursday and was being debated in the Senate yesterday, bars illegal immigrants from using driver's licenses to board airplanes or do business with the federal government.
The New York Department of Motor Vehicles changed its rules in April 2002 to require that license applicants present either valid Social Security numbers or legal immigration papers. Immigrants also had to show that they had current visas good for at least one year, with at least six months left to run. The agency began to issue "temporary visitor" licenses that were valid only as long as the visas.
Justice Smith's ruling strikes down the temporary visitor licenses. But she goes further, to warn the state that it may not use an applicant's immigration status to deny a driver's license. The ruling also bars the department from suspending the licenses of drivers with invalid Social Security numbers. In 2002, the agency conducted a check of the Social Security numbers of all licenseholders. Of 11.5 million licenses in the state, the department could not verify the numbers of about 600,000 people, according to the ruling. The department sent letters giving them 15 days to provide valid numbers or have their licenses suspended. About 252,000 people did not respond.
The judge found that the department had failed to say in its letter that the drivers could also provide a document showing why they were ineligible for Social Security benefits.
Cesar Perales, the general counsel for the Puerto Rican legal defense group, said, "I don't think anybody thinks the real impact of these rules is that immigrants will stop driving," Mr. Perales said. "The implication of this ruling is that real harm is done to people when they are denied licenses."