A new Article 78 petition filed by FAIR seeks to compel the New York DMV to release public records concerning commercial driver's license pass rates and foreign national issuances after the agency improperly invoked law enforcement and immigration exemptions.
- Lawsuit Filing: FAIR filed an Article 78 petition in Albany County Supreme Court challenging the DMV's June 29, 2026, final determination that upheld a complete denial of its Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.
- Disputed Records: The public records request sought aggregate data on commercial driver's license (CDL) knowledge tests in foreign languages, non-domiciled CDL issuance rates, skills-test outcomes, and internal policies for handling incomplete applications.
- Controversial Defenses: The DMV defended its withholding by arguing that a state statute barring records disclosure to immigration enforcement agencies should apply to FAIR due to its political advocacy, and by claiming routine licensing statistics are exempt law enforcement materials.
- Safety Concerns: The legal action follows FAIR's investigative report highlighting national highway safety concerns, dozens of 2025 fatalities involving foreign national CDL drivers, and federal findings regarding noncompliant New York credentials.
A prominent public interest group has launched a fresh legal battle against the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, accusing the agency of engaging in a "master class in evasion" after it withheld public records regarding commercial driver's licenses and foreign nationals.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) filed a petition late Monday in the New York Supreme Court in Albany County, challenging the DMV's June 29, 2026, final determination that upheld a blanket denial of a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.
The litigation is the latest escalation in a yearlong records dispute over how New York administers its CDL program for semis and buses.
Targeted records request
FAIR's original October 15, 2025, FOIL request sought five specific categories of information covering a roughly three-year period:
The frequency, pass/fail rates, and languages of CDL knowledge tests administered in languages other than English.
The number of non-domiciled CDLs issued to U.S. citizens versus foreign nationals.
First-time skills-test pass/fail rates for applicants who took knowledge tests in non-English languages.
The number of non-domiciled CDLs and commercial learner's permits issued to individuals listed with "no name given".
Internal policies and guidelines for handling incomplete applications, such as those missing names or supported by expired work authorization.
According to court filings, the DMV initially stalled the request through repeated 40-business-day extensions before invoicing FAIR $2,082.25 on January 8, 2026, to process the statistical items. FAIR paid the fee in February. However, on May 8, 2026, the DMV reversed course, issued a blanket denial for all items, and returned FAIR's money.
Dual justifications challenged
When FAIR appealed the decision, DMV FOIL Appeals Officer Tanya Davis affirmed the withholding on two primary grounds.
First, the agency invoked a state statute (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 201(12)(a)), which prohibits the DMV from sharing records with agencies that primarily enforce immigration law unless presented with a federal court order or warrant. Although acknowledging that FAIR is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit with no enforcement authority, the DMV argued that because the organization is "ideologically aligned" with immigration enforcement and lobbies federal officials, "it stands to reason that they are similarly prohibited from sharing those same records with special interest groups who work in lockstep with those agencies".
Second, the DMV claimed the routine licensing statistics and policy documents were exempt under FOIL's law enforcement provision, asserting that disclosure would interfere with pending or future investigations.
FAIR’s newest petition calls these justifications legally baseless. The group argues that the immigration statute applies exclusively to government enforcement agencies and their agents, not to private advocacy groups or media outlets exercising public inspection rights. Furthermore, the petition notes that under established New York law, a requester's identity, ideology, or purpose is entirely irrelevant to FOIL obligations.
Regarding the law enforcement exemption, FAIR argues that aggregate testing numbers and administrative license issuance statistics are routine regulatory byproducts (not records compiled for law enforcement purposes) and that the DMV failed to point to any specific ongoing investigation.
Fallout from 'License to Kill' report
The legal standoff follows an investigative report published by FAIR in August titled License to Kill: Uncovering the Anti-Borders Takeover of the National CDL Program. That report examined more than 30 deaths nationwide in 2025 stemming from crashes involving foreign national CDL holders, including a December 2025 multi-vehicle collision in Tennessee that killed a motorist and involved a non-domiciled bus driver licensed by New York. The report also cited federal findings that New York issued over 32,000 non-domiciled CDLs, a majority of which sampled failed to comply with federal standards, resulting in withheld federal highway funds.
"The New York DMV has now spent more than a year inventing new reasons to hide basic information about how it licenses the drivers of tractor-trailers and buses," said Dale Wilcox, FAIR's executive director and general counsel. "Stonewalling does not make the roads safer."
Mateo Forero, FAIR's director of investigations, noted that other large states, such as Texas and California, produced comparable data.
Requested court relief
In its Article 78 filing, FAIR is asking the court to annul the DMV's June 29 appeal determination, compel a diligent search and immediate production of the non-exempt records without further fees, and award reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation costs.
An initial return date for the petition has been set for Dec. 4 in Albany County Supreme Court.
