U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that New York state routinely issues commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants, which are valid long after they are legally admitted to the country. He threatened to withhold $73 million in highway funding unless the system is fixed and defective licenses are revoked.
State officials said they are complying with all federal licensing regulations and are verifying the driver’s immigration status.
New York is the fourth state targeted by Democratic Gov. Duffy as part of an effort to ensure truck and bus drivers are eligible for commercial licenses. He launched the review after a Florida truck driver who was not authorized to stay in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn in August, causing a crash that killed three people. However, these licensing rules have been in place for years.
The Department of Transportation says it is auditing these non-domicile licenses across the country, but so far not in states run by Republican governors. But Duffy said Friday that the effort is not political and that she hopes New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will take responsibility and work with her. He said it’s about making sure everyone behind the wheel of the 80,000-pound truck is qualified and safe.
“Let’s join hands and sing some Christmas music and fix the system,” Duffy said. Instead, he said, the response appeared to be an attempt to “evade, deflect and evade” without taking responsibility for the problem.
New York City audit finds widespread problems, federal authorities say
Duffy said federal investigators found that more than half of the 200 permits examined in New York were improperly issued, with many having an eight-year validity period, regardless of when the immigrant’s work permit expires. He said the state could not prove that it had verified the immigration status of drivers for the 32,000 valid non-domicile commercial licenses it issued. Additionally, investigators found several instances in which New York State issued licenses even when applicants’ work permits had already expired.
“If more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, this is not just a mistake, but a dereliction of duty on the part of state leadership. Governor Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses,” Duffy said.
New York State must address these concerns within 30 days. State DMV spokesman Walter McClure defended the state’s practices.
“Secretary Duffy is once again lying about the state of New York in an effort to distract from the failed and chaotic administration he represents. Here’s the truth: Commercial driver’s licenses are federally regulated, and the New York DMV complies and will continue to comply with federal regulations,” McClure said.
Mr. Duffy previously threatened to pull federal funds from New York if the state did not abandon its plan to impose congestion charges on drivers in New York City and address subway crime. The Department of Transportation also withheld $18 billion in funding for two major infrastructure projects in New York City, including a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, over concerns that the spending was based on unconstitutional diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
Previous efforts to restrict immigrant truck drivers
Immigrants make up about 20% of all truck drivers, but only about 5% of all commercial driver licenses are held outside of their home country. The Department of Transportation also proposed new regulations that would severely limit who non-citizens can obtain licenses, but the court put the new rules on hold.
Mr. Duffy threatened to withhold millions of dollars from California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota after an audit found serious problems with existing rules, including allowing immigrant truck drivers’ commercial permits to remain valid even after their work permits expired. In response to this pressure, California revoked 17,000 licenses. So far, no funds have been withheld from any states because California has complied and two other states still have time to respond, Duffy said.
Trucking industry groups are praising the Department of Transportation’s actions last week to take unqualified and non-English speaking drivers off the roads and go after troubled commercial driver’s license schools. But immigrant advocacy groups have expressed concern that the practice is leading to harassment of immigrant drivers and prompting some to abandon the profession.
“For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers to take to our highways, putting professional truck drivers and civilian motorists at risk,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
Funk writes for The Associated Press.
