Cubas v. Pataki

No. 04/112371 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. New York County filed May 10, 2005) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55764

Description

New York State’s Refusal to Renew Drivers’ Licenses Deprives Immigrants of Property Right, Constitutes Irreparable Harm

Abstract

Granting plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order, the court enjoined defendant state officials from denying renewal of plaintiffs’ drivers’ licenses on the basis of plaintiffs’ failure to comply with Department of Motor Vehicles rules that, plaintiffs allege, defendants adopted illegally. Plaintiffs—New York State residents who have been or will be denied drivers’ licenses or identification cards because they are unable to produce an acceptable social security number or otherwise document their legal immigration status to defendants’ satisfaction—contend that defendants have no statutory authority for their policy of requiring a social security number or proof of lawful immigration status, that the policy violates the state administrative procedure act, and that it deprives plaintiffs of their rights to due process and equal protection. The court said that plaintiffs had established a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim and that plaintiffs, who had acquired property rights in their continued use of their licenses, faced immediate, irreparable harm if the court did not issue a temporary restraining order. The harm to plaintiffs outweighed the administrative inconvenience to defendants of discontinuing their practice of refusing driver’s license renewals to individuals who could not present adequate social security numbers or otherwise satisfy defendants’ requirements. However, the court found that, pending a preliminary injunction hearing, individuals who had not yet been issued drivers’ licenses would not suffer irreparable harm from defendants’ policies because this group had not yet acquired a property interest in the licenses. Similarly those who had inaccurate or no social security numbers on file with defendants and whose licenses had not expired or were not about to expire faced no immediate and irreparable harm.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Jackson Chin, Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund, 99 Hudson St., 14th Fl., New York, NY 10013 (telephone number: 212.739.7572).
Docket Date
2005-05-10 00:00:00+00:00
Attorney Email
www.PRLDEF.org