Problems with commercial driver's licenses for immigrants found in 8
states so far
[December 13, 2025] By
JOSH FUNK
The federal government's crackdown on commercial driver's licenses for
immigrants has found problems in eight states so far in the wake of
several deadly crashes.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly threatened to withhold
millions in federal money from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and
now New York after investigations found problems such as licenses that
remained valid long after an immigrant's legal status expired. But 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.
Concerns about immigrant truck drivers gained attention after a
tractor-trailer driver who was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an
illegal U-turn and caused an August crash in Florida that killed three
people. A fiery California crash that also killed three people in
October and involved a truck driver in the country illegally added to
the worries.
Duffy proposed new restrictions in September that would severely limit
which noncitizens could get a license to drive a semi or a bus, but a
court has put the new rules on hold.
In addition, the Trump administration has been seeking to enforce
existing English language requirements for truckers since the 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 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 had to be 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 California
officials had verified the immigration status of all these drivers
through federal databases, as required.
But 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 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 Transportation 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 approximately 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 cancelling some licenses. Xiong said the federal audit
largely just confirmed the issues Minnesota had already found and
corrected.
The state planned to work with federal officials to resolve any
remaining questions.
New York
Duffy highlighted concerns about the commercial licenses New York has
issued to noncitizens Friday.
[to top of second column] |
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference
at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Friday, Dec. 12,
2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
 Federal investigators found that
more than half of the 200 licenses they reviewed in New York were
issued improperly with many of them defaulting 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 already expired.
“New York must act immediately to comprehensively audit its CDL
program and revoke every single illegally issued licenses,” 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 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.
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. 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.
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 that audit 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 their response.
Investigators only found problems in about 10% of the 125 licenses
they reviewed in Washington, but 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 officials told the AP they couldn't immediately respond
Friday while the state is grappling with widespread flooding. But
earlier this 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.
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