USDOT audit widens to eight states; California revokes 21,000 immigrant CDLs; funds threatened in PA and MN
A USDOT audit of state commercial driver’s license (CDL) programs has identified problems in eight states — California, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Texas, South Dakota, Colorado and Washington — leading California to revoke about 21,000 noncitizen CDLs and prompting threats to withhold nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania and $30.4 million from Minnesota while USDOT also pulled $40 million from California over English‑language enforcement issues. In New York, USDOT investigators found more than half of a 200‑license sample of non‑domiciled CDLs were improperly issued and said the state could not verify immigration status for roughly 32,000 such licenses — a finding the state DMV disputes — and nationwide enforcement has removed about 9,500 drivers for failing English‑proficiency checks even as a court has put USDOT’s stricter noncitizen CDL rule on hold.
📌 Key Facts
- USDOT audits have identified problems with immigrant commercial driver’s licenses in eight states: California, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota (publicly threatened) and Texas, South Dakota, Colorado, Washington (letters sent).
- In New York, USDOT reviewed 200 non-domiciled CDLs and found more than half were improperly issued; the state has about 32,000 active non-domiciled CDLs and many licenses defaulted to an eight‑year validity regardless of a holder’s work‑permit expiration.
- California revoked about 21,000 commercial driver’s licenses after confirming problems; USDOT also pulled $40 million from the state over English‑language enforcement issues.
- USDOT threatened to withhold nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania after finding licenses valid beyond lawful presence and missing proof at issuance, ordered Pennsylvania to pause issuing CDLs to immigrants pending review, and identified roughly 12,400 noncitizen PA CDL/CLP holders.
- USDOT threatened to withhold $30.4 million from Minnesota over similar shortcomings in issuing noncitizen CDLs.
- As of October, about 9,500 truckers nationwide were removed from the road for failing English‑proficiency checks during stops and inspections.
- A federal court has put USDOT’s September proposal to severely limit noncitizen CDLs on hold.
- New York officials pushed back: NY DMV spokesman Walter McClure accused Secretary Duffy of 'lying' and said New York complies with federal rules; politically, Duffy says the audits are nationwide and not political, though he has previously threatened New York on other issues and DOT has put $18 billion on hold for two New York infrastructure projects.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2024, among driver/sales workers and truck drivers in the US, 70.9% were White, 21.3% were Black or African American, 4.5% were Asian, and 24.3% were Hispanic or Latino.
Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Approximately 59.8% of immigrant truck drivers in the US are from Central America.
Driver Demographics Continue to Diversify — NATSO Foundation
Motor carriers with English Language Proficiency (ELP) violations were involved in DOT-recordable crashes at nearly twice the national average rate, showing a stronger correlation to crashes than speeding or drug-and-alcohol violations.
Study: English-deficient truckers pose greater safety risk than drugs, speeding — Straight Arrow News
Granting driving privileges to undocumented migrants does not significantly alter the total rate of traffic fatalities.
How Does Granting Driving Privileges to Undocumented Migrants Affect Traffic Fatalities? — The Center for Growth and Opportunity
📰 Sources (3)
- USDOT has identified problems in eight states: CA, NY, PA, MN (publicly threatened) plus TX, SD, CO, WA (letters sent during the shutdown).
- California has revoked 21,000 commercial driver’s licenses after confirming problems; USDOT also pulled $40 million from CA over English‑language enforcement.
- As of October, about 9,500 truckers nationwide were pulled off the road for failing English proficiency during stops/inspections.
- USDOT threatened to withhold nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania; the audit found licenses valid beyond lawful presence and missing proof at issuance, and ordered PA to pause issuing CDLs to immigrants pending review; ~12,400 noncitizen PA CDL/CLP holders cited.
- USDOT threatened to withhold $30.4 million from Minnesota over similar shortcomings.
- A court has put USDOT’s September proposal severely limiting noncitizen CDLs on hold.
- USDOT investigators reviewed 200 New York non-domiciled CDLs and found more than half were improperly issued.
- New York has 32,000 active non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, and USDOT says the state could not prove immigration-status verification for them.
- Many licenses defaulted to an eight-year validity regardless of a holder’s work-permit expiration.
- Named response: NY DMV spokesperson Walter McClure accused Secretary Duffy of 'lying' and said New York complies with federal rules.
- Context from Duffy: four Democratic-run states have been targeted so far; nationwide audits are underway, and he says the effort is not political.
- Background noted: Duffy has previously threatened New York over congestion pricing and subway crime; DOT has also put $18 billion on hold for two NY infrastructure projects.