The federal government’s crackdown on commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants has found problems in eight states so far in the wake of several deadly…
The federal government’s crackdown on commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants has found problems in eight states so far in the wake of several deadly crashes.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly threatened to withhold millions in federal money from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and now New York after investigations found problems such as licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant’s legal status expired. But the department quietly also sent letters detailing similar concerns to Texas, South Dakota, Colorado and Washington during the government shutdown after briefly mentioning those states in September.
Concerns about immigrant truck drivers gained attention after a tractor-trailer driver who was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused an August crash in Florida that killed three people. A fiery California crash that also killed three people in October and involved a truck driver in the country illegally added to the worries.
Duffy proposed new restrictions in September that would severely limit which noncitizens could get a license to drive a semi or a bus, but a court has put the new rules on hold.
In addition, the Trump administration has been seeking to enforce existing English language requirements for truckers since the summer. As of October, about 9,500 truck drivers have been pulled off the road nationwide for failing to demonstrate English proficiency during traffic stops or inspections.
Here’s a summary of what has happened so far:
The Transportation Department focused first on California because the driver in the Florida crash got a license there. He also went to California after the crash and had to be extradited to face charges.
California fought back after Duffy threatened to pull $160 million from the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred with Duffy in statements and social media posts defending the state’s practices by saying California officials had verified the immigration status of all these drivers through federal databases, as required.
But after that back-and-forth, California revoked 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses last month after confirming problems with them. That number has since grown to 21,000. So the Transportation Department hasn’t pulled that funding.
But Duffy did revoke a separate $40 million in federal funding because he said California is the only state not enforcing English language requirements for truckers.
The federal government might withhold nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania if it is not satisfied with the actions the state takes.
The Transportation Department said its audit found a couple of licenses out of 150 it reviewed were valid after the driver’s lawful presence in the country ended.
