The U.S. Transportation Department tightened commercial driver’s license requirements for noncitizens on
Sept. 26 after three fatal crashes this year that officials say were caused by immigrant truck drivers.
The new rules make getting commercial driver’s licenses extremely hard for immigrants because only three spe
cific classes of visa holders will be eligible. States will also have to verify an applicant’s immigration status in a federal dat
abase. These licenses will be valid for up to one year unless the applicant’s visa expires sooner than that.
A nationwide commercial driver’s license audit began after officials say a driver in the country illegally made a
U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people. Fatal truck cr
ashes in Texas and Alabama earlier this year also highlight questions about these licenses.
Millions in Federal Funding Threatened
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also threatened to revoke $160 million in federal funding for Cali
fornia because the state should never have issued 25% of 145 licenses that investigators reviewed.
He cited four California licenses that remained valid after the driver’
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s work permit expired — sometimes years after. That state has 30 days to come up with a plan to comply or lose funding.
Duffy said the rules weren’t strict enough and some states weren’t following them. The audit found licenses that
were issued improperly in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington.
“We have a government system designed to keep American families on the road safe. But that system has been compromised,” Duffy said.
Previously, Duffy threatened to pull some federal funding from Califor
nia, Washington and New Mexico for failing to enforce English p
roficiency requirements for truckers that went into effect this summer. The Transportation Department is still reviewing the responses from those states. He has ques
tioned whether the Florida truck driver understands English, but a video of a traffic stop that New Mexico offi
cials released showed him communicating with an officer.
California Points to its Safety Record
California has defended its practices and a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed Duffy’s latest attack.
“Former D-list reality star, now Secretary of Transportation, still doesn’t understand federal law. We’ll respond to today’s letter in due course,” spokeswoman Diana Crofts-Pelayo said.