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New Transportation Department restrictions that would severely limit immigrants allowed to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to drive semitrailer trucks or buses have been blocked by a federal appeals court.
in court District of Columbia The ruling Thursday comes a month after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the rules in September after a truck driver who was not authorized to reside in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash. Florida Due to which three people died, it cannot be implemented now.
The court said that the federal government did not follow proper procedure in drafting the rule and “failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for how the rule would promote safety.” The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s own data shows that immigrants who hold these licenses account for about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, but only 0.2% of all fatal crashes, the court said.
Duffy has been pressing the issue California Because the driver in the Florida crash was licensed in California, and an audit of that state’s records revealed that many immigrants obtained licenses in California that were still valid long after their work permits had expired. Earlier this week, California suspended the licenses of 17,000 commercial drivers because of that problem.
Neither Duffy nor California Gov. Gavin Newsom Questions about the decision were immediately answered Friday. Newsom’s office said the state followed guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about issuing these licenses to noncitizens.
Duffy also spoke about the Florida crash as well as fatal truck accidents texas And Alabama highlighted questions about these licenses earlier this year. Last month, a fatal crash in California killed three people, including a truck driver who was in the country illegally, further raising concerns.
The new restrictions on these licenses will only allow immigrants who hold three specific categories of visas to be eligible to obtain a license. States must also verify the applicant’s immigration status in federal databases. Unless the applicant’s visa expires early, the license will be valid for up to one year.
Under the new rules, only 10,000 of the 200,000 non-citizens holding commercial licenses will qualify for it, which will be available only to drivers who have H-2A, H-2B or E-2 visas. H-2a is for temporary agricultural workers while H-2b is for temporary non-agricultural workers, and E-2 is for people who make a substantial investment in a US business. But the rules won’t be applied retroactively, so those 190,000 drivers will be allowed to keep their commercial licenses at least until they come up for renewal.
Duffy has said that California and five other states improperly issued commercial driver’s licenses to non-citizens, but California is the only state against which Duffy has taken action because it was the first state where an audit was completed. Reviews have been delayed in other states due to the government shutdown, but the transport department is urging them all to tighten their standards.
Duffy has canceled $40 million in federal funding because he said California is not enforcing English language requirements for truck drivers, and he said earlier this week that he could take another $160 million from the state on these improperly issued licenses if they don’t invalidate every illegal license and address all concerns.