California is revoking 17,000 commercial driver’s licences after an audit found they were given to thousands of immigrants who are no longer legally allowed in the US.
The Department of Transportation said California officials confirmed they “illegally issued” those licences “to dangerous foreign drivers”, and the holders were notified their licences will expire in 60 days.
In August a truck driver who was not in the US legally killed three people in Florida, spurring the Trump administration to increase its efforts to keep undocumented immigrants out of commercial trucking and bus driving.
California Governor Gavin Newsom largely brushed off the administration’s announcement as political.
The administration has been critical of California and other states who have given licences to people who are in the country illegally.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.”
Newsom’s office has said the drivers whose licences are being revoked had valid work authorisations from the federal government.
The licences had incorrect expiration dates and violated a California law that they must expire on or before a person’s legal status in the US ends, according to media reports.
“Once again, the Sean ‘Road Rules’ Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader,” Newsom’s spokesman Brandon Richards said, referring to the secretary’s time on the MTV reality show Road Rules.
In September, one month after the deadly Florida crash, Duffy announced new rules to make getting commercial driver’s licences difficult for immigrants. They also require states to verify an applicant’s immigration status in a federal database and limit the licences to be valid for a maximum of one year.
In its notice of the new rules, the transportation department estimated 97% of current “non-domiciled” drivers – 194,000 people – will “exit the freight market” in the next few years. But, noting that there are 3.8 million commercial drivers in the country, it said it believed the rules will have a limited economic impact.
A federal appeals court this week put the new rules on hold as a lawsuit brought by a truck driver works its way through the courts.
Newsom’s office has noted that the rules were not in effect at the time the 17,000 licences were issued.
California is the only state where an audit of commercial driver’s licences has been completed. Other state reviews are expected to be released soon, though they have been delayed by the 43-day government shutdown that ended on Wednesday.
According to logistics and transportation company Fremont Contract Carriers, more than 130,000 truck drivers live in California, which is home to the two biggest ports in the country and is also the top agriculture producer. Only the state of Texas has a higher driver population.
By BBC News
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