Trump’s immigration crackdown is coming for California truckers

In October, an immigrant truck driver — who federal authorities say has no legal status — killed three people in a car crash in Ontario. In a letter sent last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the collision “may have been avoided” if California had followed the new federal rules — rules that could also lead to 61,000 California truck drivers lose their licenses.

As CalMatters’ Adam Echelman explains, before President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, non-citizen immigrants such as refugees and asylum seekers were allowed by the federal government to carry trucking licenses. More than 720,000 trucking licenses are active in California, with about 61,000, or 8%, belonging to noncitizen immigrants.

But in September, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued new regulations barring some immigrants from holding commercial trucking licenses — and singled out California in the process.

After stating that the transport department had carried out “nationwide audit” of trucking policies, Duffy threatened to withhold $160 million, or roughly 4 percent of federal highway safety funds, from California because of alleged violations.

• Duffyin a September statement: “California’s reckless disregard is frankly abhorrent and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe.”

Duffy, in the same statement, argued that licensing “dangerous foreign drivers” jeopardizes “the safety of every family on the road.” Yet, in releasing the new regulations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also acknowledged that there is insufficient evidence to show that certain types of immigrants drive more dangerously than others.

The transportation department also said it will not award the state $40 million in a separate federal grant because it says California is failing to implement Proficiency in English guidelines for truck drivers.

If California revokes the trucking licenses of all its non-citizens, the sudden drop in truckers could cause shipping costs to rise, experts say. California’s trucking industry could also take a hit: Despite the explosive growth of online retailers over the past decade, which has helped expand the trucking industry, trucking companies still struggle to retain workers willing to work the long hours and low pay that entry-level positions offer.

Read more to learn how California is responding to the new rules.

California is likely to remain in the red for next yearaccording to the latest analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, writes CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu.

California is likely to face a $17.7 billion budget hole in the new fiscal year, which could grow to $35 billion a year by 2027-28 as costs continue to rise, the report found.

This is the fourth straight year under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration that the state is expected to run a deficit despite an increase in revenue. Between July and October alone, the state exceeded projected tax revenue by $6 billion — mostly fueled by the fanfare surrounding artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley — but almost all of that will go to K-12 schools, community colleges and state reserves, the office said.

Chairman of the budget of the assembly Jesse GabrielDemocrat from Encino, said the committee “remains committed to responsible budgeting.” But the vice chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Republican Sen. Roger Niello of Roseville, blamed the structural deficit on Democrats’ “rampant spending problems.”

Read more here.

From CalMatters housing reporter Ben Christopher:

East Palo Alto settled a lawsuit challenging its “inclusionary zoning” policy, ruling out — for now — the possibility that a federal court would find it and similar programs across the country unconstitutional.

Like nearly 150 jurisdictions in California, the Bay Area city requires developers of new multifamily housing to either set aside some units for lower-income tenants or pay a fee to the city’s affordable housing fund.

The case began with a local couple, Wesley and Angela Yu, who decided to subdivide their lot and build two units on the new lot. The city is requiring them to sell or lease one at below-market rates or pay $54,891.

The Jus is judging with the help of the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation, arguing that the policy violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on taking property without compensation. Supporters of the case believed the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court would see things the same way if the case ever got there.

It won’t do. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the East Palo Alto City Council voted to exclude lot subdivisions like Yuss’s from politics. On Tuesday, they officially settled the case.

Pacific Legal settled a similar challenge in Healdsburg last year and has pending challenges to inclusionary zoning rules in Denver, Colorado, and Jackson, Wyoming.

A new law is moving California schools toward a phonics-based approach to reading. CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones and Director of Video Strategy Robert Meeks have a video segment on the measure, which also provides training for principals and reading specialists, as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

And check out another video by Deborah Brennan and Robert of CalMatters about California lawmakers want answers after shrapnel rained down Interstate 5 in October during a celebration of the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58pm weekdays on PBS SoCal.