Did New York State or New York City issue CDLs to undocumented immigrants after 2021 ID laws, and what are the official counts?

Executive summary: Available reporting shows New York State’s 2019 “Green Light Law” lets undocumented immigrants obtain standard (non‑commercial) driver’s licenses, but New York’s DMV states that the Green Light law does not allow applicants to apply for commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) under that law ^{[1] [2]}. Federal and state rules plus recent federal actions have created confusion and enforcement actions: multiple news items report arrests of people holding state‑issued CDLs who were undocumented, but official tallies of how many New York CDLs were issued to undocumented people after 2021 are not given in the cited materials ^{[3] [4] [1]}.

1. Green Light law — what it actually allows

The Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act (“Green Light Law”) enacted in New York in 2019 permits undocumented residents to apply for a standard state driver’s license if they prove identity, age and state residency; the law includes privacy protections limiting DMV data sharing with immigration agencies ^{[2] [1]}. New York’s DMV website explicitly states that “you cannot apply for a commercial license (CDL) under this law,” putting a legal boundary between standard licenses and CDLs in state policy ^[1].

2. Reports of undocumented people holding state CDLs — media and enforcement

Several local and trade outlets describe enforcement operations in which federal agents arrested people who held state‑issued CDLs but lacked legal immigration status; one Western New York report said more than 30 undocumented drivers with state CDLs were arrested during a Thruway check, and trucking press noted 30 CDL holders from multiple states were detained in a coordinated action ^{[3] [4]}. These items document that undocumented people have been found driving with state CDLs, but they do not explain the paperwork path by which each CDL was originally issued ^{[3] [4]}.

3. Federal rules, non‑domiciled CDLs and changing guidance

Federal rules complicate the picture: historically some non‑citizens lawfully present could receive “non‑domiciled” CDLs or CDLs if federally authorized to work, but federal agencies have moved to restrict that eligibility. Reporting shows that until recent federal restrictions, immigrants authorized to work could obtain CDLs; a DOT/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shift in 2025 limited eligibility for certain non‑domiciled CDLs, and subsequent interim rules narrowed who qualifies ^{[5] [6]}. Those federal changes help explain why people with state CDLs later became the subject of federal enforcement or policy disputes ^{[5] [6]}.

4. Disputed high‑profile license images and political claims

High‑profile social posts and political statements claimed New York issued CDLs labeled “No Name Given” to undocumented drivers; news outlets later flagged those claims as misleading or false in some contexts, and DHS correspondence questioned New York’s statements about the legality of specific CDLs ^{[7] [8] [5]}. The reporting shows competing claims: politicians and enforcement agencies highlighted arrests of CDL holders lacking lawful status, while state authorities and some outlets emphasized compliance with federal requirements at the time of issuance — the sources disagree in part about whether those CDLs were legally issued under contemporaneous federal rules ^{[9] [5]}.

5. What official counts exist — and what’s missing

The provided sources do not supply an official New York State or New York City count of CDLs issued to undocumented immigrants after 2021; DMV pages assert policy boundaries (no CDLs under the Green Light law) but do not publish a post‑2021 numerical breakdown showing how many CDLs were issued to people lacking lawful presence ^{[1] [10]}. Enforcement reports list numbers arrested in specific operations (e.g., “more than 30” in WNY, 30 across multi‑state sweep), but these are operational totals, not a statewide issuance inventory from DMV records ^{[3] [4]}.

6. How to interpret these pieces together

Synthesize cautiously: New York law permits standard licenses to undocumented residents but, per the DMV, does not authorize CDLs under the Green Light Law ^{[2] [1]}. Federal eligibility rules historically allowed some non‑citizens with work authorization to get CDLs or non‑domiciled CDLs, and federal policy changes in 2025 narrowed that pathway — creating a gap between state practice and federal enforcement that produced arrests and political controversy ^{[5] [6]}. Reported arrests show the problem exists in practice, but the absence of DMV issuance counts in the reporting means the precise official number of New York‑issued CDLs held by undocumented people after 2021 is not found in current reporting ^{[3] [4] [1]}.

Limitations: available sources do not include an official DMV dataset or a New York City count breaking down CDL issuance by immigration status after 2021; many articles focus on enforcement incidents or later federal rule changes rather than a comprehensive issuance audit ^{[3] [4] [5]}. If you want an authoritative tally, request DMV records or a state response; current reporting documents policy, enforcement sweeps and disputes but not a definitive post‑2021 issuance count ^{[1] [3]}.