California DMV clashes with FMCSA over revocation of 17,000 truck driver licenses

The California DMV accused the administration of using its immigration crackdown to remove
commercial drivers who met language and safety requirements.

This is after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) required the DMV to
revoke approximately 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) on Friday,
March 6.

“This federal administration is using their war on immigration to remove qualified, hardworking
commercial drivers from our workforce who meet language and safety rules,” said DMV Director
Steve Gordon. 

The action came after a federal audit found that the state had improperly issued CDLs for
certain non-domiciled or according to DMV, “those who do not have citizenship or lawful
permanent resident status, and include holders of various visas, refugees, and asylees,” under
state law.

California retorted in its recent release that FMCSA, under the Trump Administration, made
misleading statements about CDLs being issued to immigrant drivers in California.
Clearing the air, DMV explained that “All the individuals issued non-domiciled CDLs by the DMV
had been granted work authorization by the federal government and were legally present in the
United States at the time their license was issued.”

Despite a recent court ruling now allowing affected individuals to submit a new CDL application,
the DMV said the FMCSA is preventing it from processing the applications, according to the
release.

“Given that the DMV is compliant with state and federal law, it is incumbent upon the federal
government to allow the DMV to process those applications and issue licenses to eligible
drivers,” the statement said.

According to Gordon, there are no guarantees that additional solutions will become available to
help the drivers and employers, and that, in the meantime, there are immediate actions they
must take to get a Class C license to be able to drive passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks.