Problems with commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants found in 8 states so far
The federal government’s crackdown on commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants has so far hit problems in eight states following several fatal crashes.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly threatened to withdraw millions of federal dollars from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and now New York after investigations revealed problems such as permits remaining valid long after an immigrant’s legal status expired. But the department also quietly 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 travel to the United States made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in August in Florida that killed three people. A fiery crash in California that also killed three people in October and involved a truck driver who was in the country illegally added to concerns.
Duffy proposed new restrictions in September that would significantly limit non-citizens who could obtain a license to drive a tractor-trailer or bus, but a court suspended the new rules.
Additionally, the Trump administration has been seeking to enforce existing English language requirements for truckers since the summer. As of October, approximately 9,500 truck drivers had been taken off the road nationwide for failing to demonstrate English proficiency during roadside stops or inspections.
Here’s a summary of what’s happened so far:
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 fought back after Duffy threatened to take $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 checked the immigration status of all those 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. This number has since increased to 21,000. The Department of Transport has therefore not withdrawn this funding.
But Duffy revoked a separate $40 million in federal funding because he said California was the only state not enforcing English language requirements for truckers.
The federal government could take away nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania if it is unhappy with the state’s actions.
The Transport Ministry said its audit found that few out of 150 licenses examined were valid after the driver’s legal presence in the country ended. In four other cases, the federal government said Pennsylvania provided no evidence that it required noncitizens to provide legitimate proof that they were in the country legally at the time they obtained the permit.
As it has done in all of these states, the Department of Transportation has ordered Pennsylvania to stop issuing commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants until it has conducted a full review to ensure that all licenses it has issued remain valid and to revoke any licenses that do not.
The federal government said about 12,400 non-citizen drivers hold an unexpired commercial learner’s permit or Pennsylvania-issued commercial driver’s license.
Duffy threatened to withhold $30.4 million from Minnesota if the state doesn’t address flaws in its commercial driver’s license program and revoke all licenses that should never have been issued.
The Department of Transportation found some licenses valid beyond a driver’s work permit and others where the state never verified a driver’s immigration status.
Minnesota Department of Driver and Vehicle Services Chief Pong Xiong said the state found a number of administrative issues in the 2,117 non-domiciled business licenses it issued and took action, including canceling some licenses. Xiong said the federal audit largely just confirmed problems that Minnesota had already discovered and corrected.
The state planned to work with federal officials to resolve remaining questions.
Duffy highlighted concerns about the business licenses New York issued to non-citizens on Friday.
Federal investigators found that more than half of the 200 permits they reviewed in New York were issued improperly, with many of them defaulting to eight years, regardless of when an immigrant’s work permit expired. And he said the state couldn’t prove it verified the immigration status of those drivers for the 32,000 active nondomiciled commercial licenses it issued. Additionally, investigators found instances where New York State issued licenses even when applicants’ work authorizations had already expired.
“New York must act immediately to thoroughly audit its CDL program and revoke all illegally issued licenses,” said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs.
State DMV spokesman Walter McClure defended the state’s practices and said New York follows all federal rules for this type of business license.
Nearly half of the 123 licenses examined by investigators in Texas were faulty, so the Department of Transportation threatened to withhold $182 million if the state did not reform its licensing programs and invalidate the faulty licenses.
A spokesperson for Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement that “public safety is the Governor’s top priority, and we must ensure that truckers can operate on Texas roadways safely and efficiently. To support this mission, Governor Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to strictly enforce English proficiency requirements and stop issuing intrastate commercial driver’s licenses to drivers who do not meet these standards.”
Investigators discovered three state-issued business licenses that were valid longer than they should have been. South Dakota also issues several licenses to Canadian citizens who are not eligible to obtain one.
One problematic practice that investigators discovered while reviewing 51 South Dakota licenses was that the state routinely issues temporary paper licenses good for one year, regardless of the driver’s immigration status.
South Dakota officials did not immediately respond to concerns Friday. The state could lose $13.25 million.
About 22 percent of the 99 licenses examined in Colorado violated federal requirements. This raises questions about the 1,848 active non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses in the state.
Investigators discovered a glitch in Colorado’s computer system that rolls back a license valid for four years when a worker must perform multiple searches in a federal immigration database. Unless the worker is vigilant, some of these extended licenses slip through.
Eighteen Mexican citizens who were ineligible were also granted business licenses.
Jennifer Giambi, a spokeswoman for the Colorado DMV, said the state is in the process of auditing its licensing program to check for any additional issues, and that audit is expected to be completed by January. No new licenses are being issued under the program at this time.
The state could lose $31.35 million if the Department of Transportation is not satisfied with its response.
Investigators found problems in only about 10 percent of the 125 licenses they examined in Washington, but they were alarmed to learn that an internal state review found that 685 immigrant drivers had obtained regular commercial licenses instead of the nondomiciled licenses they should have received. The Transportation Department said state officials often accept the wrong documents in these cases.
Washington officials told the AP they could not immediately respond Friday as the state grapples with widespread flooding. But earlier this week, a state Department of Licensing spokesman, Nathan Olson, said in an email to The Seattle Times that the errors had been corrected and that Washington was working to improve its system and procedures.
