California would lose an additional $160 million for delaying the cancellation of 17,000 Commercial driver’s licenses For immigrants, federal transportation officials announced Wednesday.
Transport Minister Sean Duffy already Withholding $40 million In federal funding because he said California does not impose English proficiency requirements on truck drivers.
The state notified those drivers in the fall that they would lose their licenses after a federal audit found problems involving truck driver and bus driver licenses that remained valid long after their immigrant visas expired. More than a quarter of the small sample of California licenses reviewed by investigators were illegal.
But California said last week that it would postpone those cancellations until next March Immigrant groups sued State due to concerns that some groups are being unfairly targeted. The state was supposed to revoke those licenses by Monday, Duffy said.
Daffy Pressure on California and other states to ensure that licenses are not granted to immigrants who are in the country illegally.
“Our demands were simple: follow the rules, revoke licenses illegally issued to dangerous foreign drivers, and fix the system so this never happens again,” Duffy said in a written statement. “(Governor) Gavin Newsom has failed to do just that — putting the needs of illegal immigrants ahead of the safety of the American people.”
Newsom’s office did not immediately respond after the measure was announced Wednesday afternoon.
Federal government I started to fall apart During the summer. The problem became prominent after an unauthorized truck driver in the United States made an illegal turn and caused an accident in Florida. Who killed three people In August.
Duffy had previously threatened to withhold millions of dollars in federal funding from the United States ca, pennsylvania, minnesota, New York, Texas, South Dakota, Colorado and Washington after audits found major problems under current rules, including having business licenses valid long after an immigrant truck driver’s work permit expires. He dropped a threat to withhold $160 million from California after the state said it would revoke the licenses.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Baars said California had failed to fulfill a promise it made in November to revoke all defective licenses by January 5.
“We will not accept a corrective plan that intentionally leaves thousands of drivers with non-compliant licenses behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks in open defiance of federal safety regulations,” Baars said.
Trucking trade groups have applauded efforts to source unqualified drivers who should not have licenses or I can’t speak English out of the way. They also praised the Department of Transport’s moves to pursue it Questionable commercial driver’s license schools.
Sikh truck drivers have been in the spotlight because the driver in the Florida accident and the driver in the accident Another fatal accident In California in October they are both Sikh. So the Sikh Coalition, a national group that advocates for Sikh civil rights, and the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus A class action lawsuit was filed On behalf of California drivers. They said migrant truck drivers were present Unfairly targeted.
Immigrants represent about 20% of all truck drivers, but these non-domestic licenses that immigrants can obtain represent only about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, or about 200,000 drivers. Also the Ministry of Transport Proposed new restrictions This would severely limit the ability of non-citizens to obtain a license, except in court Put the new rules on hold.