Judge orders immigrant truck drivers to keep their licenses

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More than 20,000 immigrant truck drivers will be able to keep their licenses in California, at least temporarily, despite efforts by the Trump administration and the state of California to revoke them, according to a preliminary ruling Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court.

The decision puts the state of California in a compromising position. The US Department of Transportation has already repeatedly pressured the California Department of Motor Vehicles to terminate those licenses that belong to many asylum seekers and other immigrants with temporary legal status after the federal government found alleged administrative problems with the expiration dates of their licenses. The California DMV complied with the Department of Transportation’s requirements and sent letters to more than 20,000 drivers last fall informing them that their California licenses would expire in the next 60 days.

But after a law firm and two legal advocacy groups, the Asian Legal Group and the Sikh Coalition, will file a lawsuit on behalf of the truck drivers, claiming the state did not follow the proper process for revoking their licenses, the state extended the expiration dates until March 6 . The Ministry of Transport announced in January that it would keep $160 million in federal highway funds of California as a penalty for extending the expiration date.

While immigrant drivers in the courtroom celebrated today’s preliminary ruling, attorneys for the state of California warned that the judge’s decision could harm many more people. The Trump administration has threatened to withdraw California’s authority to grant full business licenses if the state does not comply with its orders regarding immigrant truck drivers.

Forcing the DMV to keep those 20,000 licenses intact “would risk the ultimate harm that California is trying to avoid,” said Barbara Horn-Petersdorf, an attorney with the California Department of Justice. “The DMV is not exempt from retaliation.” In total, about 700,000 drivers in California have commercial driver’s licenses, required to operate everything from trucks to school buses.

Later this week, the judge will issue a final ruling, and attorneys representing California will explain the process they will use to allow 20,000 truckers to keep their licenses while satisfying the federal government’s demands.

Although about 20,000 immigrant drivers will be able to keep their licenses in the short term, their long-term prospects are more limited. The Ministry of Transport was created standard in February, which prevents states from issuing or renewing licenses to certain immigrants, including many, if not all, of the 20,000 drivers affected by the judge’s temporary ruling. Two major unions, the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers, and Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, are suing the federal government for preventing said rule effective next month.

State of California is also suing of the Department of Transportation for threatening to withhold $160 million in funding and prevent the state from issuing trucking licenses in the future.

Lose your driver’s license and pay $70,000

In September, Alejandro, a Bay Area truck driver and asylum seeker from South America, received a notice from the California DMV informing him that his license would be revoked. CalMatters agreed not to release his name because of concerns about possible retaliation.

Over the past three years, Alejandro claims to have invested more than $70,000 into his trucking business, including buying his own truck and insuring it. “If I can’t keep my driver’s license, I can’t continue to run my business,” he told CalMatters. The judge’s temporary ruling will allow him to keep his license until December, the original expiration date. He assured that he has permission to work in the US until 2030.

Many of the drivers are immigrants They belong to the Sikh community a religious minority in India. They sued the California DMV, alleging that the state did not give them a fair opportunity to resolve administrative issues with their licenses. The plaintiffs, who are not named in the lawsuit, include two school bus drivers and three commercial drivers. Many of their licenses were set to expire in 2027 or later.

The driver shortage is already affecting supply chains, said Gunveer Singh, a California agent who helps coordinate deliveries across the state. He added that the cost of a freight trip from New Jersey to Texas has increased more than 35 percent because of the national shortage of immigrant drivers. “We just couldn’t find drivers,” he said. “This is a serious problem.”