A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Transportation had no basis for withholding nearly $74 million in funding earmarked for New York State. The dispute concerned about 33,000 commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to drivers who do not have permanent residence in the U.S. The licenses’ validity was challenged after a federal audit. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan found that the federal administration’s decision was arbitrary and contrary to existing regulations.
In their written opinion, the judges said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which operates under the Department of Transportation, had no grounds to punish New York for refusing to invalidate some of the licenses. Among other things, the cases at issue involved commercial licenses that remained valid after a driver’s legal immigration status had expired. The court noted, however, that during the period covered by the dispute, there were no regulations requiring such documents to be revoked automatically. New York issued commercial licenses with an eight-year term of validity, regardless of how long the holder’s visa was valid.
The legal dispute was set off by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s tightening of the rules on issuing commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants. Federal inspections carried out in all states found tens of thousands of licenses that remained valid even though the holders’ U.S. work permits had expired. In summer 2025, the Department of Transportation also began enforcing new rules that require applicants for a CDL to know English. According to the department, about 26,000 truck drivers have lost their driving privileges since the new regulations took effect. Another 30,000 licenses were canceled after being found to have been issued unlawfully.
The rules were tightened after a truck crash in Florida that killed three people. The driver, who is originally from India, had tried to make a U-turn on a highway. A van carrying three people slammed into the trailer, which was left positioned across the roadway. None of the van’s occupants survived the collision. Duffy argued at the time that the driver should never have received a commercial driver’s license in the first place.
Edited by JŁ
Source: Nowy Dziennik
