The Empire State launched legal action on Friday against federal transportation officials who are holding back approximately $74 million in road funding because New York won’t cancel thousands of commercial driving permits issued to immigrants that federal auditors have deemed problematic.
The legal challenge puts New York alongside California in opposing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s campaign to strengthen oversight of immigrant commercial driving credentials and ensure states are properly implementing current regulations.
Federal transportation officials haven’t yet responded to the latest court filing, but they’ve made their concerns clear about discovering serious issues with more than half of the 200 licenses they examined. Auditors uncovered major problems including permits that stayed active well beyond when immigrants were legally permitted to remain in the United States.
This controversy gained national attention following a deadly August accident in Florida where a truck operator who Duffy claims should never have received driving privileges made an illegal U-turn that resulted in three fatalities. California has already forfeited $200 million due to questions about its non-resident commercial licenses and enforcement of English proficiency standards for truckers. Additional states including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina have received warnings that their funding could be at risk.
However, most other states have either met federal demands or are actively negotiating with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Transportation officials have examined records for these non-resident commercial licenses across all 50 states.
New York’s top legal officer, Attorney General Letitia James, maintains the state correctly followed all applicable regulations when the commercial permits were originally granted, making license revocation unnecessary.
State officials conducted their own review of all questioned cases and determined that every license holder was legally authorized to be in the country when they received their driving credentials. After presenting these findings to federal authorities in January, James argues it’s unreasonable for Washington to deny funding that New York depends on for maintaining safe transportation infrastructure.
“By canceling this funding, the federal government is putting jobs and communities at risk. New Yorkers are counting on these investments, and we will not let the president jeopardize our communities’ safety,” she said.
Governor Kathy Hochul pointed out that reviews conducted during the previous Trump presidency verified the state was complying with federal requirements.
“Once again, New York is facing devastating federal cuts for nothing more than political payback,” Hochul said. “Ripping away money that goes toward critical safety upgrades on our roads is reckless and it is illegal.”
Beyond removing unqualified operators from highways, Duffy has spearheaded initiatives targeting questionable driving schools and pursuing trucking companies that break regulations only to rebrand themselves and continue operating.
Prior to these actions, the current administration announced plans last summer to begin enforcing existing requirements that truck operators demonstrate adequate English communication abilities. Duffy emphasizes these language capabilities could be vital during police stops or following accidents to ensure drivers can effectively communicate with law enforcement about incidents and any hazardous materials they’re transporting.
Industry organizations have supported these enforcement efforts, arguing that too many unqualified operators who lack proper credentials have gained access to 80,000-pound commercial vehicles. This situation threatens highway safety for all travelers and tends to reduce driver wages when companies can hire immigrant truckers at lower pay rates.
Transportation trade associations have long advocated for greater system accountability and stricter standards governing who can establish trucking operations. For many years, anyone willing to pay several hundred dollars in fees and provide insurance documentation could start a trucking business.
Problematic companies might not face scrutiny until much later when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration conducts audits of their operations.
While immigrants make up roughly 20% of all commercial drivers, these non-resident licenses available to immigrants represent only about 5% of total commercial driving permits, covering approximately 200,000 operators.
Immigrant advocacy organizations argue that many drivers are being unfairly singled out. Attention has focused particularly on Sikh truckers because both the Florida crash driver and another operator involved in a fatal California accident in October belong to the Sikh community. Multiple groups have filed lawsuits challenging California’s plan to cancel roughly 20,000 commercial licenses.
Last autumn, the Transportation Department introduced proposed emergency limitations that would drastically restrict which non-citizens could obtain licenses, but a federal court suspended the new regulations because they hadn’t completed standard rule-making procedures.
In response, Duffy unveiled a properly reviewed final regulation in February that tightens restrictions on immigrant commercial license eligibility.
Under the updated rules, only immigrant drivers holding H-2a, H-2b or E-2 visas can obtain licenses. H-2a visas cover temporary farm workers, H-2b applies to temporary non-agricultural workers, and E-2 is designated for individuals making significant investments in American businesses.
