New York State has indefinitely suspended the issuance of Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) to non-citizens under pressure from the federal government’s tightening immigration and transportation regulations, along with threats to withhold federal funding.
According to Walter McClure, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, in compliance with explicit federal requirements, the CDL program for non-residents of the state has been indefinitely suspended, including renewals.
Last December, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy warned New York State that failure to cease issuing CDLs to non-citizens could result in the state losing $73 million in federal highway funding. Duffy cited an audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which found that out of 200 randomly checked New York State CDL records, 107 were illegally approved, indicating a violation rate of over half.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has recently intensified enforcement in states like New York and California, deeming the practice of allowing immigrants to obtain truck driving licenses as risky. The federal government revoked guidelines allowing “non-citizens holding federal work authorizations” to apply for CDLs last year, further tightening regulations.
This policy shift aligns with several controversial incidents. In one instance referenced by the New York Post, authorities in Oklahoma arrested a man holding a New York REAL ID CDL, where the “name field” on the license showed as “no name given.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later confirmed the man’s identity as Anmol Anmol, an Indian national who illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 and now faces deportation.
In another incident from last December, an Indian undocumented immigrant named Harjinder Singh was implicated in a fatal car accident in Florida, resulting in three deaths. Investigations revealed that he was unable to identify basic road signs during his CDL test in California and had limited English comprehension. This incident brought national attention to whether the oversight of CDL issuance was rigorous enough.
The trucking industry in New York State has expressed support for the government’s decision. The New York State Motor Truck Association stated in a release that truck drivers are crucial to the state and national logistics, emphasizing that issuing CDLs through a process that is “safe, accountable, and transparent” is essential to protect road users and uphold the professionalism of the thousands of drivers responsible for daily operations in New York.