The issue gained national attention following a series of deadly crashes that renewed questions about states issuing commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California says it plans to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses given to immigrants after discovering the expiration dates went past when the drivers were legally allowed to be in the U.S. The state is calling it a correction, but advocates for immigrant truckers say it feels more like punishment than policy.
Rajinder Singh, president and CEO of Global Truck Permits, said the past few days have been nonstop.
“Not even 24 hours, from the last couple of days. I am so busy,” Singh said.
Singh has spent 22 years helping drivers navigate permits and compliance. He said he now receives 150 to 200 calls a day, many from drivers in tears and worried about truck payments, jobs and how they will support their families.
“Everybody was crying, what are we going to do, we only have 60 days left over and we have truck payments,” Singh said. “Once they lost their job, especially people who own their own trucks, they will be in big trouble, now they have to pay the payments on their trucks, they cannot pay for their houses and it will be a big challenge for them to survive with their families.”
He said the fallout could stretch far beyond the trucking industry.
“This will not only hit to the trucking company, it will hit everybody in America. The reason is once there will be shortage of trucks, the chain supply will be affected for sure,” Singh said. “If you remember in COVID, the load price was gone almost three times than the regular price, the cost of good was like almost 30 to 50% up.”
The issue gained national attention following a series of deadly crashes that renewed questions about states issuing commercial driver’s licenses to people without permanent status.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement, “After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked. This is just the tip of iceberg. My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses.”
The DMV referred ABC10’s questions to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. His office pushed back on Duffy’s comments, saying, “Once again, Sean ‘Road Rules’ Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader.”
Singh, who is also part of the nonprofit United Sikhs, said decisions should be based on safety. He suggested adding an English test or more training for commercial drivers but said singling out people over immigration status isn’t fair.
“If we are just targeting the driver on their basis of immigration status, I think that is absolutely not fair. That is not justice,” Singh said.
He added, “Bias is not safety. Safety is safety, bias is not safety. It is a discrimination with the driver from a different race, with the driver with a different color, with the driver with a different faith and with the driver with a different look.”
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has paused the rule, issuing a stay while the case moves through the courts. The decision was filed under Jorge Rivera Lujan et al. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10 | California to revoke 17,000 commercial licenses