Federal transportation authorities have announced a significant financial penalty for the state of California. The penalty, amounting to $160 million, is a consequence of the state's decision to delay the revocation of approximately 17,000 commercial driver's licenses issued to immigrants. This action was announced on Wednesday.
Federal Crackdown Over License Violations
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that the state failed to meet a deadline to cancel these licenses by a recent Monday. The decision to withhold funds comes on top of an earlier action where $40 million was already withheld. Duffy stated this initial penalty was because California was not enforcing English proficiency requirements for commercial truck drivers.
The core issue stems from a federal audit which discovered serious problems with California's licensing system. The audit found that commercial licenses for truck and bus drivers remained valid long after an immigrant's visa had expired. In some cases, licenses were also issued to citizens of Mexico and Canada who did not qualify. Investigators concluded that more than one-quarter of the licenses they reviewed in a sample were unlawful.
Legal Challenges and State's Delayed Action
California had initially notified the affected drivers in the fall that their licenses would be revoked. However, the state decided last week to delay these revocations until March. This pause came after immigrant advocacy groups, including the Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Caucus, filed a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit argued that immigrant truck drivers were being unfairly targeted by the enforcement action.
Duffy expressed strong disapproval of California's delay. In a written statement, he accused Governor Gavin Newsom of putting the needs of illegal immigrants above the safety of American citizens. "Our demands were simple: follow the rules, revoke the unlawfully-issued licenses to dangerous foreign drivers, and fix the system so this never happens again," Duffy stated. Newsom's office did not provide an immediate response to the announcement.
Safety Concerns Following Fatal Crashes
The federal government's enforcement efforts intensified during the summer. A tragic incident in August brought the issue into sharp focus. A truck driver, who was not authorised to be in the U.S., caused a fatal crash in Florida after making an illegal U-turn, killing three people.
Derek Barrs, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, stated that California had broken a promise made in November to revoke all flawed licenses by January 5. He also noted that the state unilaterally decided to delay the cancellation of an additional 4,700 unlawful licenses discovered after the initial audit. Barrs warned that the agency would not accept a plan that leaves thousands of non-compliant drivers operating heavy trucks.
Industry Support and Immigrant Driver Statistics
Trucking industry groups have welcomed the federal government's strict stance. They argue that removing unqualified drivers and those who cannot speak English from the roads is crucial for public safety. The government's actions against questionable commercial driver's license schools have also been praised.
While immigrants constitute roughly 20% of all truck drivers in the country, the specific type of license in question—non-domiciled licenses for immigrants—represents only about 5% of all commercial licenses, or approximately 200,000 drivers nationwide. The spotlight has particularly fallen on Sikh truckers due to the drivers involved in the Florida crash and another fatal crash in California in October both being Sikh.
The Transportation Department has also proposed new rules that would severely limit which noncitizens can obtain a commercial driver's license, though these regulations are currently on hold by a court order.
