California Delays License Revocations for Immigrant Truck Drivers Amid Lawsuit

Wed Dec 31 2025 05:42:04 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

California announces a delay in revoking 17,000 commercial driver's licenses to ensure qualified immigrant drivers can retain their licenses, following a recent lawsuit by immigrant advocacy groups.

California has postponed the revocation of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses until March to allow immigrant truck drivers who are legally qualified to keep their licenses. This decision follows a lawsuit filed by the Sikh Coalition and Asian Law Caucus, emphasizing the need to protect immigrant drivers from unfair targeting. The state's move comes after concerns raised by the Transportation Department over unauthorized licenses, particularly in the wake of incidents linked to non-citizen drivers.

A week after immigrant groups filed a lawsuit, California announced on Tuesday that it will delay the revocation of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses until March. This decision is aimed at ensuring that truck drivers and bus drivers who are legally qualified to hold these licenses will not lose them.

The revocation was initially prompted by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who pressured the state to prevent immigrants without legal status from holding commercial licenses. The Transportation Department is focusing on this issue following a crash in Florida caused by an unauthorized driver, which tragically resulted in three fatalities.

Duffy has not commented on the delay, but California officials are working to implement reforms satisfactory to the federal Transportation Department. Initially, the state had planned to resume issuing licenses in mid-December, but this was blocked by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy. Our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them,” stated DMV Director Steve Gordon.

The Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Caucus filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant truck drivers, arguing that they are being unfairly targeted. Past incidents involving Sikh drivers have raised concerns about discrimination against immigrant truck drivers.

Currently, immigrants make up about 20% of all truck drivers in California, yet the non-domiciled licenses that immigrants might receive account for about 5% of the total, roughly 200,000 licenses. The Transportation Department had proposed new restrictions that would drastically reduce the number of noncitizens eligible for a license; however, a court has temporarily halted these regulations.

Mumeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, indicated that this delay is a crucial step in alleviating threats to immigrant drivers’ livelihoods. Duffy’s actions have raised concerns about potential federal funding cuts for states like California and Minnesota, following an investigation into the existing licensing rules.

Trucking trade organizations have generally supported reforms aimed at removing ineligible drivers from the roads and have also praised efforts to scrutinize dubious commercial driver’s license schools.