New York, NY—On Thursday morning, Matthew Albence, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), visited the Rensselaer County jail. During the visit, Albence held a press conference attacking the Green Light bill, which allows New Yorkers to apply for a driver’s license regardless of their immigration status.
In response to Acting Director Albence’s remarks, Murad Awawdeh, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Strategy of the New York Immigration Coalition, issued the following statement:
“Unsurprisingly, Acting ICE Director Albence’s dishonest and misleading public attack on New York's Green Light is more of the same ugly rhetoric from this Administration designed to stoke racial animus and undermine a law passed to ensure the safety of every New Yorker. Given that ICE agents shot an unarmed Brooklyn man in the face only weeks ago, it is laughable that Albence could lecture our state about the rule of law or public safety. All New Yorkers are safer because of the Green Light law, and we’re smart enough to see through this latest attempt to attack the protections for immigrants that New York has proudly enacted. We wholeheartedly support Governor Cuomo and Attorney General James' decision to sue the Trump administration for this politically-motivated attack on New York State.”