California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has announced a two-month delay in revoking approximately 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) held by immigrants, many of whom are in the country illegally.
The postponement pushes the original January 5 deadline to March, allowing these drivers to remain on the roads despite federal mandates and ongoing public safety concerns.
The decision comes just a week after immigrant advocacy groups, including the Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Caucus, filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the state of unfairly targeting immigrant truckers and bus drivers, as The Gateway Pundit previously reported.
These groups argue that the revocations threaten the livelihoods of drivers who may legally qualify to retain their licenses, even as federal audits revealed glaring issues, such as licenses remaining valid long after immigration authorizations expired or lacking proof of status verification.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been relentless in pressuring California to enforce federal rules after a series of deadly crashes involving unauthorized immigrant drivers.
One incident in August involved an alien truck driver in Florida who made an illegal U-turn, killing three people.
According to a report from Fox News, the driver, Harjinder Singh “allegedly failed to recognize three out of four highway traffic signs and answered just two questions out of 12 correctly in an English proficiency assessment delivered by transportation officials.”
Singh’s CDL had been issued in California.
Another fatal crash in California in October also involved a Sikh driver, heightening scrutiny on non-domiciled licenses issued to immigrants.
Duffy has already withheld $40 million in federal funding from California, citing failures to enforce English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers. He’s warned that missing the January 5 deadline could cost the state an additional $160 million, emphasizing that California has no “extension” to continue “breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads.”
California DMV Director Steve Gordon defended the delay, stating, “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them.”
Nationwide, immigrants comprise about 20% of truck drivers, with non-domiciled licenses representing roughly 5% of all CDLs, or around 200,000 drivers.
Trucking industry groups have applauded the federal push to remove unqualified drivers, including those unable to speak English, from the roads, praising efforts to target questionable CDL schools as well.
The post California Defies Federal Deadline, Postpones Revocation of 17,000 Commercial Licenses for Immigrant Truck Drivers, Many of Whom are Illegal Aliens appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.