California is in the process of revoking 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses. This move comes in the wake of an internal audit which discovered these licenses were granted to immigrants who are no longer legally able to reside in the United States. This decision is a victory for cities seeking to protect their authority from encroachment by state legislatures. It focuses in particular on the validity of driver’s licenses as they impact immigration status.
The audit — the first of its kind in the nation — uncovered serious problems. Thousands of licenses had wrong expiration dates, which meant they violated California law by not corresponding with an individual’s legal status in the U.S. This week, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office made a big and welcome change official. While people may have begun with valid work authorization documents from the US government, new state-level rules have made these licenses no longer valid.
Newsom’s office indicated that the rules governing the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses were not in place when the 17,000 licenses were granted. The newly implemented rules require states to verify an applicant’s immigration status through a federal database and limit the validity of commercial driver’s licenses to a maximum of one year. These changes have drawn heavy backlash, since they severely increase the barrier for immigrants to acquire commercial driving credentials.
Despite this positive news, recent actions are indicative of a national trend that started with the Trump administration. Together, these initiatives will bolster immigration enforcement within the commercial trucking and bus driving sectors. The unfortunate incident in Florida – caused by a recently arrested, illegal alien truck driver – spurred this effort on. That crash led to three tragic deaths.
With nearly 3.8 million commercial drivers, California’s driver population is among the largest in the nation. In fact, it comes second only to Texas in this attribute. Tightening licensing requirements and a wave of recent revocations are about to exacerbate the trucking industry’s driver shortage. These changes will have a profound effect on the current labor market.
In response to the growing controversy, Governor Newsom sought to assure onlookers that there was not a political motive behind the dramatic announcement. He focused on the fact that the revocations are the product of following the law and not political theater.
“Once again, the Sean ‘Road Rules’ Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader.” – Brandon Richards
Newsom’s administration is coming under fire from several divergent camps. To many critics, these revocations are a drop in the bucket compared to the far greater sea of wrongdoing.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg.” – Sean Duffy
There’s no question that California is boldly tackling enormous changes to its regulatory environment. Today, stakeholders in the trucking industry need to understand the new terrain and recognize how these developments impact immigrant drivers.