Summary
On Friday, New York filed a lawsuit challenging a Transportation Department decision to withhold nearly $74 million in federal highway money after an audit found problems with the state’s handling of certain commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants. The state said it would not revoke those licenses because it believed it followed the rules when the licenses were granted. New York argued that losing the funds would undermine road and bridge investments and safety work, while federal officials said their review identified significant flaws in how the licenses were administered.
The lawsuit follows a broader effort by the Trump administration, led by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, to tighten eligibility rules for immigrants seeking commercial driver’s licenses and to push states to enforce existing requirements more consistently. New York’s challenge joins California’s lawsuit, both aimed at contesting the federal government’s approach to which immigrants can qualify and how states are complying with federal requirements. Officials at the federal Transportation Department declined to comment on the new lawsuit.
Federal officials said their review identified major problems with non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, including licenses that remained valid long after the immigrant was authorized to be in the country. According to the Transportation Department, New York’s computer system defaulted to issuing licenses valid for eight years regardless of how long an individual’s visa remained valid. Officials said they found significant flaws in more than half of the roughly 200 licenses they reviewed.
The fight gained traction after a crash in Florida in August involving a truck driver Duffy said should not have been able to keep a commercial driver’s license. In that crash, the driver carried out an illegal U-turn that killed three people, according to the AP reporting. The issue has also drawn scrutiny from California, which has faced federal funding losses tied to concerns about its issuance and enforcement of non-domiciled commercial licenses and rules including English-language requirements for truckers.
New York officials said the withholding amounted to “political payback.” Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, said the state believes it properly complied with the federal commercial licensing requirements in place at the time the licenses were issued and that it therefore does not plan to revoke them. James said New York reviewed the cases and found recipients were authorized to be in the country when they received their licenses, and the state pointed that fact to federal officials in January. She argued it was unfair for the federal government to withhold money the state relies on.
Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed that framing, saying the state was facing “devastating federal cuts” for what she characterized as political reasons. Hochul said the action was “reckless and it is illegal,” arguing the money supports critical safety upgrades on New York’s roads. The governor said audits conducted by the first Trump administration had confirmed the state was following federal regulations, while Duffy’s approach under the current administration is more strict.
Duffy has also led initiatives aimed at improving trucking safety by going beyond license eligibility issues. The effort includes cracking down on questionable trucking schools and pursuing trucking companies that violate rules and then continue operating by changing their names. The Trump administration announced last summer that it would begin enforcing existing requirements that truck drivers be able to speak English proficiently, with Duffy saying those language skills can be crucial during traffic stops or after accidents to allow communication with authorities, including about what happened and whether hazardous chemicals were being transported.
In addition to the safety rationale, trucking industry groups have praised the tighter enforcement. They said that too many unqualified drivers who should not have licenses have been able to get behind the wheel of very large trucks. The reporting said industry groups also argue the system can depress driver pay by enabling employers to hire cheaper immigrant labor. For years, the industry groups have also pushed for more accountability in how trucking companies are formed, noting that for a time, companies could be set up by paying a fee of a few hundred dollars and showing proof of insurance.
Immigrant groups, however, have said they believe enforcement efforts are targeting them unfairly. The reporting said immigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers, while the non-domiciled licenses that immigrants can receive under the federal system represent about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses—roughly 200,000 drivers. The spotlight has fallen on Sikh truckers in connection with the Florida crash driver and another fatal crash in California in October, where both drivers were Sikh, according to the AP report. Several groups have sued to challenge California’s plan to revoke about 20,000 commercial licenses, the reporting said.
Federal actions affecting immigration eligibility have also faced legal challenges. Last fall, the Transportation Department proposed emergency restrictions intended to limit which noncitizens could get a license, but a court put the rules on hold while normal review steps for drafting a rule were not complete. In February, Duffy announced a final rule that the Transportation Department said had been properly vetted to tighten which immigrants can qualify for commercial licenses. Under the new rules described in the reporting, only immigrants holding certain visas—H-2a, H-2b or E-2—can get a commercial license, with H-2a for temporary agricultural workers, H-2b for temporary nonagricultural workers, and E-2 for people who make substantial investments in a U.S. business.