The federal government’s crackdown on commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants has reported problems in California and seven other states so far in the wake of several deadly crashes.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has threatened to withhold millions in federal money from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New York after he said investigations found problems such as licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant’s legal status expired. The department quietly also sent letters detailing similar concerns to Texas, South Dakota, Colorado and Washington during the government shutdown after briefly mentioning those states in September.
Federal concerns about immigrant truck drivers gained attention in August after a tractor-trailer driver who was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people. The driver, a Stockton resident, was licensed in California and previously in Washington state.
A fiery crash in October on the 10 Freeway in Ontario that also killed three people involved a truck driver in the country illegally, adding to the federal government’s worries.
Duffy proposed new restrictions in September that would severely limit which noncitizens could get a license to drive a semitruck or a bus, but a court has put the new rules on hold.
In addition, the Trump administration has been seeking to enforce its English-language requirements for truckers imposed this summer. As of October, about 9,500 truck drivers have been pulled off the road nationwide for failing to demonstrate English proficiency during traffic stops or inspections.
Here’s a summary of what has happened so far:
California
The U.S. Transportation Department focused first on California because the driver in the Florida crash got a license there. He also went to California after the crash and was extradited to face charges.
California fought back after Duffy threatened to pull $160 million from the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred with Duffy in statements and social media posts defending the state’s practices by saying state officials had verified the immigration status of all these drivers through federal databases, as required.
After that back-and-forth, California revoked 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses last month after confirming problems with them. That number has since grown to 21,000. So the Transportation Department hasn’t pulled that funding.
But Duffy did revoke a separate $40 million in federal funding because he said California is the only state not enforcing English language requirements for truckers.
Pennsylvania
The federal government might withhold nearly $75 million from Pennsylvania if it is not satisfied with the actions the state takes.
The Transportation Department said its audit found that a couple of licenses out of 150 it reviewed were valid after the driver’s lawful presence in the country ended. In four other cases, the federal government said Pennsylvania gave no evidence it had required noncitizens to provide legitimate proof they were legally in the country at the time they got the license.
As it has done in all these states, the department ordered Pennsylvania to stop issuing commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants until it completed a full review to ensure all the licenses it has issued remain valid and revoke any licenses that aren’t.
The federal government said that about 12,400 noncitizen drivers hold an unexpired commercial learner’s permit or commercial driver’s license issued by Pennsylvania.
Minnesota
Duffy threatened to withhold $30.4 million from Minnesota if that state doesn’t address shortcomings in its commercial driver’s license program and revoke any licenses that never should have been issued.
The Transportation Department found some licenses that were valid beyond a driver’s work permit and some where the state never verified a driver’s immigration status.
The head of Minnesota’s Department of Driver and Vehicle Services, Pong Xiong, said the state found a number of administrative issues in the 2,117 non-domiciled commercial licenses the state has issued and took action, including canceling some licenses. Xiong said the federal audit largely confirmed the issues Minnesota had already found and corrected.
The state planned to work with federal officials to resolve any remaining questions, Xiong said.
New York
Duffy highlighted concerns Friday about the commercial licenses New York has issued to noncitizens.
Federal investigators found that more than half of the 200 licenses they reviewed in New York were issued improperly, with many of them failing to be valid for eight years regardless of when an immigrant’s work permit expires. And he said the state could not prove it had verified these drivers’ immigration status for the 32,000 active non-domiciled commercial licenses it has issued. Plus, investigators found some examples of New York issuing licenses even when applicants’ work authorizations were expired.
“New York must act immediately to comprehensively audit its CDL program and revoke every single illegally issued [license],” said Derek Barrs, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
State DMV spokesperson Walter McClure defended the state’s practices and said New York has been following all the federal rules for this kind of commercial license.
Texas
Nearly half of the 123 licenses investigators reviewed in Texas were found to be flawed, so the Transportation Department threatened to withhold $182 million if the state doesn’t reform its licensing programs and invalidate any flawed licenses.
A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that “public safety is the Governor’s top priority, and we must ensure that truckers can navigate Texas roadways safely and efficiently. To support this mission, Governor Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to strictly enforce English language proficiency requirements and to stop issuing intrastate commercial driver’s licenses to drivers who do not meet those standards.”
South Dakota
Investigators found three commercial licenses the state issued that were valid longer than they should have been. South Dakota also issues several licenses to Canadian citizens who aren’t eligible to get one, federal officials said.
One problematic practice investigators found as they reviewed 51 South Dakota licenses was that the state routinely issues temporary paper licenses that are valid for one year regardless of the immigration status of a driver.
South Dakota officials didn’t immediately respond Friday to the concerns. The state could lose $13.25 million.
Colorado
Roughly 22% of the 99 licenses that were reviewed in Colorado violated federal requirements, according to the Transportation Department review. That 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 will revert to a license valid for four years when a worker has to do multiple searches in a federal immigration database. Unless the worker is vigilant, some of those extended licenses sneak through, the findings showed.
Eighteen Mexican citizens who weren’t eligible were also issued commercial licenses.
Jennifer Giambi, a spokesperson for the Colorado DMV, said the state is in the middle of auditing its licensing program to check for any additional problems and should be done by January. No new licenses are being issued in the program right now.
Washington
The state could lose $31.35 million if the Transportation Department isn’t satisfied with its response.
Investigators found problems in about 10% of the 125 licenses they reviewed in the state, but they said they were alarmed to learn that an internal state review discovered 685 immigrant drivers who were issued regular commercial licenses instead of the non-domiciled ones they should have received. The Transportation Department said that state officials often accepted the wrong documents in those cases.
Washington state officials told the AP they couldn’t immediately respond Friday while the state is grappling with widespread flooding. But earlier in the week, a state Department of Licensing spokesperson, Nathan Olson, said in an email to the Seattle Times that the errors had been addressed and Washington is working to improve its system and procedures.
Funk writes for the Associated Press.
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