California to revoke 17,000 CDLs for immigrants drivers after Trump pressure

California is about to revoke industrial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to 17,000 immigrants, beneath stress from the Trump administration.

The driving force’s licenses anticipated to be revoked would have expired after the motive force was legally allowed to be within the nation.

“After weeks of claiming they did nothing incorrect, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve got uncovered their lies, 17,000 illegally issued truck permits are being revoked,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned in a press release. “That is simply the tip of the iceberg. My crew will proceed to drive California to show that they’ve eliminated each unlawful immigrant from behind the wheel of semi-trucks and college buses.”

The Department of Transport mentioned these affected by the choice have been notified that their licenses now not meet federal necessities and can expire inside 60 days. Nevertheless, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s workplace mentioned in a submit on X that the mentioned federal necessities weren’t in impact when the permits have been issued.

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California plans to revoke 17,000 industrial driver’s licenses, beneath stress from the Trump administration. (Fred Greaves/Reuters; Rachel Wisniewski/Reuters)

Within the scathing post on social mediaNewsom’s workplace blasted Duffy over the Transportation Division’s assertion on the difficulty, highlighting each level it deemed a “lie.”

The primary level Newsom’s workplace pushed again on was the division’s declare that the California Division of Motor Autos “admitted to illegally issuing the 17,000 CDLs in query.” Newsom’s workplace claims the permits have been revoked as a result of they violated California regulation.

Newsom’s workplace additionally rejected the division’s assertion that the drivers who obtained the licenses have been unlawful immigrants, saying they have been legally current within the U.S. and had been “approved to work by the federal authorities.”

As well as, Newsom’s workplace disputed the declare that the Federal Motor Provider Security Administration (FMCSA) evaluation discovered that “a couple of in 4 of non-domiciled CDL information sampled in California didn’t adjust to federal laws.” The California governor’s workplace claimed that FMCSA’s evaluation was “primarily based on the retroactive software of the brand new guidelines” and mentioned, “FMCSA additionally faults California for following tips expressly accepted by DHS.”

Nevertheless, Duffy hit again, saying: “We have mentioned all alongside: [DOT] reprimands California for violation [FMCSA’s] ORIGINAL guidelines.”

“My emergency motion stemmed partially from California’s full disregard for these federal legal guidelines – it was SO BAD,” Duffy added.

Harjinder Singh, 28, was arrested after allegedly making an unauthorized U-turn in Florida final week that resulted in a crash that killed three individuals, officers mentioned. (St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Workplace)

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California’s resolution to revoke the permits got here simply at some point earlier than Harjinder Singh, who entered the US illegally in 2018 and is accused of inflicting a deadly crash that killed three individuals, confronted a listening to because the courtroom reviewed discovery points and the interpreter’s issues.

Singh was charged with three counts of vehicular murder after allegedly trying to make an unlawful U-turn via an entry level designated for official use solely in Fort Pierce, Florida. When he made the flip, Singh allegedly prompted what Homeland Safety known as a “brutal wreck.” In August, Singh was extradited from California to Florida, the place the accident occurred.

Simply days after the accident, officers investigating the wreck mentioned Singh failed the English and visitors signal checks.

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Jashanpreet Singh, an unlawful immigrant from India, was arrested on October 21, 2025 in reference to a deadly accident on the I-10 freeway in San Bernardino County, California. Singh is accused of driving beneath the affect and inflicting a fiery wreck that left three individuals lifeless. (Invoice Melugin/through X; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE))

“Through the day [FMCSA’s] Throughout an interview with the motive force, investigators performed an English Language Proficiency Evaluation (ELP) in accordance with FMCSA tips,” the Division of Transportation mentioned in a press release. “The driving force failed the evaluation, supplied appropriate responses to solely 2 of 12 verbal questions, and precisely recognized only one of 4 freeway indicators.”

In one other case, Jashanpreet Singh, an unlawful immigrant from India who obtained a CDL from California, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving beneath the affect after allegedly driving beneath the affect and inflicting an accident that killed three individuals.

A number of federal regulation enforcement sources advised Fox Information that Singh was first encountered by Border Patrol brokers in California’s El Centro sector in March 2022 and launched into the nation’s inside pending an immigration listening to.

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Police say Singh by no means hit the brakes earlier than getting caught in visitors, citing toxicology checks that confirmed the impairment.

Peter D’Abrosca and Jasmine Baehr of Fox Information Digital and Invoice Melugin of Fox Information contributed to this report.