From CBS News: A week after immigrant groups filed a lawsuit, California said Tuesday it will delay the revocations of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses until March to allow more time to ensure that truckers and bus drivers who legally qualify for the licenses can keep them.
But U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the state may lose $160 million if it doesn’t meet a Jan. 5 deadline to revoke the licenses. He already withheld $40 million in federal funding because, he said, California isn’t enforcing English proficiency requirements for truckers.
California only sent out notices to invalidate the licenses after Duffy pressured the state to make sure immigrants who are in the country illegally aren’t granted the licenses. An audit found problems like licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant’s authorization to be in the country expired or licenses where the state couldn’t prove it checked a driver’s immigration status.
The Transportation Department has been prioritizing the issue ever since a truck driver who was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people in August.
Two immigrant rights groups, the Sikh Coalition, and the Asian Law Caucus, joined together to file a lawsuit over the CDL crackdown, claiming that “immigrant truck drivers were being unfairly targeted.”
After the lawsuit was filed, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced an extension for the cancellation of commercial driver’s licenses for approximately 17,000 drivers. Instead of the CDLs being terminated on Jan. 5, 2026, California is now allowing the licenses to remain in effect until March 6, 2026.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote, “Gavin Newsom is lying. The deadline to revoke illegally issued, unvetted foreign trucker licenses is still January 5.
“California does NOT have an “extension” to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads. Miss the deadline, Gavin, and the @USDOT will act — including cutting nearly $160 million in federal funding.”
Gavin Newsom is lying. The deadline to revoke illegally issued, unvetted foreign trucker licenses is still January 5.
California does NOT have an “extension” to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads.
Miss the deadline, Gavin, and the @USDOT will act —…
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) December 31, 2025
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