California is facing sharp federal backlash — and potentially massive financial penalties — after an investigation revealed the state illegally issued thousands of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to foreign nationals, many of whom are in the country illegally.
According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) unlawfully issued 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs to migrant drivers in direct violation of federal standards. The revelation comes amid an ongoing Trump administration investigation into a series of deadly highway crashes involving migrant truck drivers — some of whom reportedly failed basic safety and language competency tests.
“After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed,” Duffy said in a statement released Wednesday. “Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked.”
These licenses were issued to individuals not considered permanent residents or U.S. citizens — a violation of Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines. Under federal law, non-domiciled CDLs can only be issued under strict eligibility standards, and applicants must demonstrate English proficiency and a legal immigration status that allows them to reside and work in the United States.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which oversees commercial driver licensing standards nationwide, is now demanding a comprehensive audit of California’s non-domiciled CDL records. The FMCSA has already found that over 25% of California’s licenses issued to non-domiciled individuals failed to meet legal requirements — the highest error rate in the country.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Duffy warned. “My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses.”
The fallout has already begun. The DOT announced it is revoking the 17,000 licenses, notifying the holders that their CDLs will expire within two months. California’s DMV has yet to publicly respond, and state officials have not commented on how such a large number of licenses were approved in apparent violation of federal law.
Worse still, the California Highway Patrol reportedly informed the federal government earlier this year that it had no intention of enforcing English language proficiency standards — a direct violation of FMCSA regulations. In response, the DOT in October withheld $40 million in federal funds from California. Now, that figure may climb sharply.
The Trump administration is threatening to pull an additional $160 million in transportation funds unless California fully revokes all unlawfully issued non-domiciled CDLs and brings its licensing practices back into compliance.
This scandal highlights what federal officials are calling a “catastrophic pattern” of state-level disregard for national safety standards. One crash in particular, involving a migrant driver who reportedly could not understand basic road signs or communicate in English, prompted the initial wave of federal scrutiny.
Duffy has vowed sweeping accountability and promised to block California from endangering public safety in the name of political convenience or lax enforcement.
“California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe,” he said. “California must get its act together immediately or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding.”
The FMCSA’s audit is ongoing, but the message from Washington is already clear: States that sidestep federal safety and immigration laws will be met with aggressive legal and financial consequences. And in California’s case, the cost — both in credibility and taxpayer dollars — is already mounting.
