California is revoking 17,000 commercial driver’s licences after a federal audit determined that they had been issued to immigrants who are no longer legally permitted to remain in the United States. According to the US Department of Transportation, state officials “illegally issued” thousands of commercial driving permits to foreign nationals who do not meet current federal requirements. All affected drivers were notified that their licences will expire within 60 days.
The crackdown intensified after an undocumented truck driver caused a deadly crash in Florida in August, killing three people. That incident prompted the Trump administration to take stronger measures aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from operating commercial trucks and buses across the country.
Governor Gavin Newsom dismissed the announcement as politically motivated, noting that the administration has frequently targeted California and other states that allow undocumented residents to obtain licences. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the situation as far more widespread than California acknowledges, vowing to continue pressure on the state. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Newsom’s office pushed back strongly, arguing that the drivers whose licences are being revoked previously held valid federal work authorisations. State officials say the issue stemmed from incorrect expiration dates, which violated a California law requiring licences for non-citizens to expire when their legal immigration status ends.
Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards accused Duffy of spreading misinformation, referencing his past as an MTV reality show participant. Richards insisted that California followed the law as it existed at the time of issuance.
In September, one month after the Florida crash, Duffy introduced new regulations that make it considerably harder for immigrants to obtain commercial driver’s licences. The rules require states to verify applicants’ immigration status through a federal database and limit licence validity to one year. Federal estimates suggest that 97% of the nearly 200,000 “non-domiciled” commercial drivers nationwide could exit the trucking industry in the coming years. However, officials maintained that the broader economic impact would be minimal given the country’s 3.8 million licensed commercial drivers.
A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the new rules while a related lawsuit proceeds, and Newsom’s office noted that the regulations were not in effect when the 17,000 licences were originally issued.
California is currently the only state to complete a full audit of its commercial driver’s licence system, with additional state reviews expected soon. The process has been delayed by the recent government shutdown, which lasted 43 days. With more than 130,000 truck drivers living in the state—home to the nation’s two largest ports and the top agricultural sector—California remains one of the most important hubs in the national supply chain, second only to Texas in its commercial driver population.
