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The federal government’s crackdown on commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants has so far led to problems in eight states in the wake of several fatal crashes.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly threatened to withhold millions in federal funding. California, pennsylvania, minnesota And now an investigation in New York has found problems such as licenses that remain valid long after an immigrant’s legal status expires. But the department quietly sent letters to Texas detailing similar concerns, South Dakota, colorado and Washington during the government shutdown after briefly mentioning those states in September.
Concerns about immigrant truck drivers gained attention when a tractor-trailer driver, who was not authorized to live in the U.S., made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida in August that killed three people. A fatal crash in October in California also killed three people and involved a truck driver in the country illegally, further raising concerns.
Duffy proposed new restrictions in September that would severely limit the number of times non-citizens can obtain a license to drive a semi or bus, but a court has blocked the new rules.
Additionally, the Trump administration has been seeking to enforce existing English language requirements for truck drivers since the summer. As of October, approximately 9,500 truck drivers nationwide have been taken off the road for failing to demonstrate English proficiency during traffic stops or inspections.
Here’s a summary of what’s happened so far:
California
The Department of Transportation first focused on California because the driver in the Florida crash was licensed there. He also traveled to California after the accident and had to be extradited to face charges.
California retaliated after Duffy threatened to withhold $160 million from the state. Governor Gavin Newsom argued with Duffy in statements and social media posts defending the state’s practices, saying that California officials had verified the immigration status of all of these drivers through federal databases as required.
But then, California suspended the licenses of 17,000 commercial drivers last month after confirming the problems. Since then this number has increased to 21,000. Therefore the Transport Department has not withdrawn that amount.
But Duffy rescinded $40 million in federal funding because he said California is the only state not imposing English language requirements for truck drivers.
pennsylvania
The federal government can withhold nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania if it is not satisfied with actions taken by the state.
The Department of Transport said its audit found that some of the 150 licenses reviewed were valid after the driver’s lawful presence in the country ended. In four other cases, the federal government said Pennsylvania provided no evidence that noncitizens were required to provide valid proof that they were in the country legally at the time they obtained a license.
As has been done in all of these states, the Department of Transportation ordered Pennsylvania to stop issuing commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants until it can complete a full review to ensure that all licenses it issues remain valid and to revoke any licenses that are no longer valid.
The federal government said about 12,400 noncitizen drivers have a commercial learner permit or commercial driver’s license issued by Pennsylvania.
minnesota
Duffy threatened to withhold $30.4 million from Minnesota if the state does not close loopholes in its commercial driver license program and revoke any licenses that should never have been issued.
The Department of Transportation found some licenses that were valid beyond the driver’s work permit and some where the state had never verified the driver’s immigration status.
Pong Xiong, head of Minnesota’s Department of Driver and Vehicle Services, said the state found numerous administrative issues with 2,117 non-domiciled commercial licenses issued and took action, including revoking some licenses. Xiong said the federal audit largely confirmed issues Minnesota had already found and fixed.
The state planned to work with federal officials to resolve any remaining questions.
new york
Duffy on Friday highlighted concerns about commercial licenses issued by New York to non-citizens.
Federal investigators found that more than half of the 200 licenses they reviewed in New York were improperly issued, with many not valid for eight years, regardless of when the immigrant’s work permit expires. And he said the state could not prove that it had verified the immigration status of these drivers for the 32,000 active nonresident commercial licenses it issued. Additionally, investigators found some instances of licenses being issued in New York when applicants’ work authorizations had already expired.
“New York must take immediate action to conduct a comprehensive audit of its CDL program and revoke every license issued illegally,” said Derek Bars, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
State DMV spokesman Walter McClure defended the state’s practices and said New York was following all federal regulations for such commercial licenses.
texas
Nearly half of the 123 license checks reviewed in Texas were flawed, so the Department of Transportation threatened to withhold $182 million if the state did not reform its licensing programs and invalidate any flawed licenses.
A spokesman for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that “Public safety is the Governor’s top priority, and we must ensure that truck drivers can safely and efficiently navigate Texas roads. To support this mission, Governor Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to strictly enforce English language proficiency requirements and to stop issuing intrastate commercial driver licenses to drivers who do not meet those standards.”
South Dakota
Investigators found three state-issued commercial licenses that were valid longer than expected. South Dakota also issues many licenses to Canadian citizens who are not eligible for a license.
During a review of 51 South Dakota licenses, investigators found that a problematic practice was that the state routinely issues temporary paper licenses that are valid for one year regardless of the driver’s immigration status.
South Dakota officials did not immediately respond to the concerns Friday. The state may suffer a loss of $13.25 million.
colorado
Of the 99 licenses reviewed in Colorado, approximately 22% violated federal requirements. This raises questions about the 1,848 active non-domiciled commercial driver licenses in the state.
Investigators have discovered a glitch in Colorado’s computer system that would have caused a license to become valid for four years if an employee made multiple searches in the federal immigration database. Unless the employee is alert, some of those extended licenses slip through the cracks.
Eighteen Mexican citizens who were not eligible were also issued commercial licenses.
Colorado DMV spokeswoman Jennifer Giambi said the state is conducting an audit of its licensing program to check for any additional problems, and the audit should be completed by January. No new licenses are being issued under the program right now.
Washington
If the transport department is not satisfied with their response, the state may suffer a loss of $31.35 million.
Investigators found problems with only 10% of the 125 licenses reviewed in Washington, but they became concerned after learning that an internal state review discovered 685 immigrant drivers who were issued regular commercial licenses instead of the nonresident ones they should have received. The transport department said state officials often accept the wrong documents in those cases.
Washington officials told the AP they could not immediately respond Friday while the state grapples with widespread flooding. But earlier this week, Nathan Olson, a spokesman for the state licensing department, said in an email to the Seattle Times that the errors had been addressed and that Washington is working to improve its system and processes.