The federal government has pulled more than $73.5 million in funding from New York State after officials there declined to cancel approximately 33,000 problematic commercial driving permits held by immigrants, the Transportation Department announced Thursday.
Federal auditors discovered that over half of 200 licenses they examined contained serious issues, including permits that stayed active well beyond the time when immigrants had legal permission to remain in the United States. Following these findings, New York was directed to examine all similar licenses and eliminate those issued illegally.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a nationwide examination of these specialized non-domiciled commercial licenses following a deadly August collision in Florida that claimed three lives. While most states have either followed federal directives or entered into discussions with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, California has forfeited $200 million in funding. Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina have received warnings about potential funding cuts.
“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers. I’m delivering on that promise today,” Duffy said.
According to Duffy, immigrants make up roughly 20% of the nation’s truck drivers, though these special non-domiciled permits represent only about 5% of all commercial driving licenses nationwide, totaling around 200,000 drivers. New York had issued 32,606 such licenses.
New York state leaders have stood by their licensing procedures, arguing they follow federal regulations and pointing to audits conducted during the previous Trump presidency that validated their practices. This licensing dispute represents the most recent clash between federal authorities and New York and New Jersey officials regarding transportation funding. Duffy previously froze $18 billion designated for a subway expansion and Hudson River tunnel project in August. He has also warned of funding cuts if New York maintains its congestion pricing program in New York City or fails to address subway crime.
Sean Butler, a spokesman for Governor Kathy Hochul, characterized the commercial license action as part of a broader campaign targeting Democratic-led states.
“This continues a yearlong pattern of Secretary Duffy threatening to withhold money that keeps our roads, subways, and other infrastructure safe for New Yorkers. We will fight back, and once again we will win,” Butler said.
Transportation industry organizations have applauded the department’s initiatives to remove unqualified drivers from highways, shut down questionable driving schools, and pursue trucking companies that break regulations and then simply rebrand themselves to continue operations. Industry representatives argue that too many drivers lacking proper qualifications or English language skills have been permitted to operate 80,000-pound commercial vehicles.
However, immigrant advocacy organizations contend that some drivers are facing unfair targeting. Sikh truckers have faced particular scrutiny following the Florida incident and another fatal crash in California in October, both involving Sikh drivers.
