The New York commercial drivers license shared by the governor of Oklahoma. The New York Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed its authenticity.
Oklahoma Governor’s Office
ALBANY — The federal government is accusing New York officials of falsely claiming that a commercial driver’s license seized from a migrant during a truck stop checkpoint in Oklahoma last month was issued legally and under the correct name.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released new information about the man’s New York license on Friday, several days after claims about its origin went viral on social media. A commercial driver’s license is required to operate large or heavy vehicles such as tractor-trailers, buses and dump trucks, or vehicles with 15 or more passengers or that are being used to transport hazardous materials.
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The license was issued to an immigrant from India who the homeland security agency said illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 but was allowed by the federal government to remain in the country. The agency did not say why he was allowed to stay.
The man, identified by the homeland security agency as Anmol Anmol, was arrested on Sept. 23 during a truck inspection detail on Interstate 40 that was being conducted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Federal authorities said that “record checks conducted by ICE revealed Anmol is an illegal alien from India. ICE arrested him and placed him in removal proceedings.”
Immigrants detained after they enter the country illegally can be given permission by the federal government to remain in the U.S. for a few reasons.
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Those include when an immigrant is paroled into the country for humanitarian purposes, like a request to seek asylum. Others can remain if they’re given temporary protected status by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an inquiry seeking clarity on what status Anmol was given that allowed him to remain in the country in 2023, and if that status was revoked before he was arrested last month in Oklahoma.
About 5.8 million immigrants were paroled into the U.S. or otherwise allowed to remain in the country when President Joseph R. Biden was in office, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
Of those, more than 237,000 immigrants seeking asylum have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, according to city officials. The address on the seized license was in Queens.
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Immigrants who’ve applied for asylum can seek permission to work in the U.S. but have to wait at least six months from when that application was made. Those granted temporary protected status can be authorized to work immediately.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles said in a statement earlier this month that the immigrant had an employment authorization from the federal government and that its authenticity had been confirmed.
“The individual has lawful status in the United States through a federal employment authorization and was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines,” the state agency said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an inquiry about whether the immigrant had been granted work authorization.
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Anmol’s last name was listed as “Anmol” on the New York license, but “No Name Given” was printed on the license where a first name would appear.
The state has said his name appeared that way on his license because he only had one name, referred to as a mononym. Some cultures, including in parts of India, only use one word for someone’s name.
The immigrant’s identity was verified through federally issued documentation, the state said. It was a REAL ID, which requires either a Social Security number or documentation showing the person was lawfully permitted to remain in the U.S.
Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that New York falsely stated Anmol only had one name. She did not say the license was unlawfully issued.
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“New York is not only failing to check if applicants applying to drive 18-wheelers are U.S. citizens but even failing to obtain the full legal names of individuals they are issuing commercial drivers’ licenses to,” McLaughlin said.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles did not disclose which federal documents showed his name was a mononym and that he was authorized by the federal government to work in the U.S. The agency declined to respond to McLaughlin’s remarks.
Some of the viral social media posts about the license claimed it was issued under New York’s Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses after passing the same test taken by citizens.
But that law would not apply in this situation. Commercial driver’s licenses can’t be issued through the Green Light Law. It only applies to standard driver’s licenses.
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Immigrants who are authorized to work by the federal government were allowed to seek a commercial driver’s license until late September, when the U.S. Department of Transportation restricted the ability of states to do so. New York stopped issuing those licenses to immigrants as a result.
Anmol was placed in removal proceedings after he was detained, according to the federal government, which did not say if he had a criminal history. He is being held at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in northern Oklahoma.