The freeze for New York residents in registering for trusted traveler programs could have a "federal way to overcome it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Monday. 

At the same time, Schumer said he is supportive of New York's lawsuit to challenge the freeze, which prevents New Yorkers from registering or re-applying for programs that allow for easier entry through ports and across borders. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James filed the legal challenge last week.

"The bottom line is it's vindictive," Schumer said during an unrelated event in the Capital Region. "It singled out New York. It's really hurting people on all kinds of things, particularly in Western New York. So I support Cuomo's lawsuit and we're looking to see if there's a federal way to overcome it."

Cuomo and President Donald Trump met last week to discuss the freeze, which the Department of Homeland Security has said is due to a provision in a new law allowing undocumented immigrants access to driver's licenses that prevents immigration officials from accessing DMV records. 

Cuomo and Trump left the meeting at the White House with no resolution, but the governor said New York and the federal government will continue talking.