Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Josh Funk at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.
California plans to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants amid a dispute between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Trump administration over whether the licenses were improperly issued or are being revoked for unspecified state law violations.
Some key facts:
• California is revoking 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses that were given to immigrants, with licenses expiring in 60 days.
• Newsom says the revocations are for violations of state laws that existed before recent Trump administration rule changes, though he did not provide specifics.
• U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claims the revocations are an admission that California acted improperly in issuing the licenses.
• Duffy revoked $40 million in federal funding from California and has threatened to take away another $160 million over the licenses.
• Newsom’s office says all 17,000 drivers whose licenses are being revoked had valid work authorizations from the federal government.
• New federal rules implemented in September restrict commercial driver’s licenses to only three visa types: H-2a, H-2b, and E-2.
• Under the new rules, only 10,000 of the 200,000 noncitizens with commercial licenses would qualify, though the rules won’t be enforced retroactively.
• Fatal truck crashes in Florida, Texas, Alabama, and California involving drivers in the country illegally prompted the nationwide commercial driver’s license audit.
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
