Police Chiefs Backing Trump Administration’s Push Against ‘Green Light’ Law That Protects Illegal Immigrants

“It looks like the 9/11 attacks didn’t have a lasting effect on Democrats…. – Tank Murdoch. Capt. Christopher ‘Tank’ Murdoch,  spent 26 years on active duty in some of the world’s major trouble spots as an aviator in the U.S. Navy. He is now the commander of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Naval ROTC unit.

Though Democrats and Left-wing organizations routinely paint President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts with the broad brushes of ‘racism’ and ‘bigotry,’ most Americans simply don’t see it that way.

Surveys vary, of course, and media outlets generally cherry-pick results of polls to push whatever view on the issue they favor. But here’s what’s undeniably true: Trump pulled out his 2016 electoral victory on the strength of his positions on how to restart our economy and curbing illegal immigration.

Here’s what’s also true: The more the Trump administration tries to fulfill its pledge to protect the integrity of our borders and enforce our immigration laws, the more pushback the White House gets from Democrat-run states.

California has passed a law making the entire state a “sanctuary” for illegal aliens (and now they face a lawsuit from the Justice Department. And recently, New York State also passed legislation denying federal immigration enforcement officers’ access to illegal aliens in the state, as well as allowing illegal immigrants to apply for and receive driver’s licenses.

In response, the Department of Homeland Security has barred New York from participating in Global Entry and Trusted Traveler Programs [TTP] because the law also prevents Customs and Border Protection [CBP] officials from accessing necessary data.

That move prompted New York to file suit against the Trump administration, claiming that the policy is discriminatory. But an association of New York police chiefs is backing the Trump administration, according to the National Association of Chiefs of Police:

In a letter to Acting Homeland Security Secretary, Chad Wolf, the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police thanked him for notifying leaders of recent actions taken by the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] in response to New York’s “Green Light Law,” and emphasized the importance of sharing information with law enforcement.

The Green Light Law allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses in New York, while also prohibiting DMV agencies across the state from sharing criminal records with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It was that aspect that led DHS last week to suspend enrollment in Global Entry and several other Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) for all state residents.

The letter, which was signed by association president Patrick Phelan, said that the organization “opposed passage of this regrettable law and we maintain that position today.”

“Our members fully recognize that sharing pertinent law enforcement information and vital resources across local, state and federal boundaries is critical to ensuring the safety of the communities we serve,” the letter said.

“It is our hope that reasonableness will prevail by all involved and that an appropriate resolution can be attained,” it says. “What’s ultimately required is an operational and administrative process that prioritizes public safety for all New Yorkers and serves as its fundamental cornerstone,” the letter said.

Wolf said in a letter to New York officials that the law “compromises CBP’s ability to confirm whether an individual applying for TTP membership meets program eligibility requirements.”

“This Act and the corresponding lack of security cooperation from the New York DMV requires DHS to take immediate action to ensure DHS’ s efforts to protect the Homeland are not compromised,” he said.

My, how times change. It was just 19 years ago — a day that is burned into the memories of every American alive who was old enough to understand what was occurring — that a group of al Qaeda-linked terrorists flew planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City in what became the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil in the history of the republic.

Question: How could a terrorist organization exploit New York’s Green Light Law in order to get operatives into NYC to carry out another attack?

You can bet there are terrorist groups wargaming that scenario at this very moment, and it’s obvious Trump’s DHS — and New York police chiefs — are, too.