Fact Check: Is New York Issuing Driver’s Licenses to People Refusing to Give Their Name

Editor’s Note: We are publishing the photo of Anmol’s partially redacted driver’s license as it is in the public domain.

[Washington, D.C. – WBHG News] – The state of New York violated no laws, despite a Department of Homeland Security reposted on Twitter (X) of the driver’s license of Anmol Anmol of India, claiming the ID was “handed out” and issued to “No Name Given.”

On October 10, the official Homeland Security Twitter account posted, “Want to know how CORRUPT [emphasis – DHS – Ed.] sanctuary New York City is? They handed out a COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE to an illegal alien and actually issued it to ‘No Name Given.’”

The quirk of the Real ID Act of 2005 became a political issue in September. On September 29, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt posted on Twitter that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol conducted an “enforcement action” on Interstate 40 and “apprehended 125 illegal immigrants.” Among the people taken into custody was Anmol, whose data matches the same information released by DHS on October 10 and 13.

“If New York wants to hand out [Commercial Driver Licenses] to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them,” Stitt wrote on Twitter, “The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”

On October 13, DHS claimed that the enforcement action was carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, not the Oklahoma State Patrol. They only mentioned the single arrest of Anmol. The official account said federal agents stopped his truck as part of a “routine inspection.”

New York followed the federal Real ID Act laws

The Real ID Act requires states to issue driver’s licenses only to foreign individuals who can provide a government-issued photo ID, such as a passport that includes their date of birth, among other requirements. It also requires that the name on the state driver’s license is an exact match to the verified foreign government ID. The City of New York has no authority to independently issue driver’s licenses.

In some countries, particularly in Asia, including Russia, it is possible for a person to only have a surname on their passport. The fields for a first and middle name are blank because, in their country, the government-issued documents required to get a passport didn’t include a first name.

All states are also required to verify U.S. citizenship or if a person has permanent or temporary status residence in the U.S., or an approved application for asylum, a pending application for asylum, a pending application for temporary protected status (TPS) visa, has court-approved deferred action status, or has a pending application for adjustment of status to an “alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S.”

For a person who only has a surname on their foreign documents, the federal visas would also only list a surname.

In these cases, a Real ID-compliant state-issued driver’s license would leave the first and middle name fields blank and only show the last name. That includes Oklahoma. New York has a quirk where “No Name Given” is placed in the first and middle name fields if the provided documents only have a surname.

Is Anmol an illegal immigrant or an illegal trucker

DHS claims that Anmol is an illegal immigrant who arrived in the United States in 2023. Through a statement, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) denied the claim, saying Anmol “has lawful status in the United States through a federal employment authorization and was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines.”

According to New York officials, federal law was followed when issuing the Limited-Term Commercial Driver License (CDL) to Anmol. A New York limited-term CDL can be issued to drivers who have passed federal commercial driver training and health requirements and have “temporary lawful status in the United States.” The permit is valid only as long as the applicant is authorized to stay in the U.S. or for one year, whichever is shorter. Anmol’s license was issued on April 14, 2025.

No evidence has been presented in the public domain that supports DHS’s claim that Anmol was in the U.S. illegally. According to the Transactional Record Clearing House database, as of September 21, 71.5% of people in ICE custody have no criminal convictions, with many of them holding valid immigration visas.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has reportedly mandated that DHS arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day, with federal officials falling far short of the goal. DHS has been accused of sweeping up legal visa holders and falsely arresting U.S. citizens in an attempt to reach their required goals.

We cannot verify the government’s claim that Anmol was in the U.S. illegally at the time he was detained on September 29. DHS has not accused him of committing any traffic or safety infractions, and has made no claims of a prior criminal record or police contact. Anmol’s employer information has not been released, and there were no reports of an ongoing investigation into potential Form I-9 fraud.

What stops a person from updating their documents

The Real ID Act allows someone to change their name if their documents have been amended, legally updated to correct errors by the issuing body, or updated through events such as marriage or divorce. However, the law also requires showing the “name progression” with a legal paper trail. For a resident alien, visa holder, or a person with a green card, U.S. courts can’t be used to change a foreign passport. Individuals who only have a surname on their official legal documents have no path to amend their documents within the U.S.

Complicating the issue, immigration attorneys advise green card holders moving through the citizenship process against making legal name changes until the citizenship proceedings are completed. When a new citizen is issued their certificate of citizenship, they can petition for a name change, which saves money and reduces legal complexity.

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