The California Department of Motor Vehicles will revoke approximately 17,000 commercial licenses (known as CDLs) issued to immigrant drivers who are not permanent residents of the United States, according to a Department of Transportation report this Thursday (November 13, 2025).
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy used the cancellation announcement to criticize California Governor Gavin Newsom for giving business permits to illegal aliens.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg, and my team will continue to press California to prove it has removed all illegal immigrants from its school buses,” Duffy said in a statement.
California has defended itself by ensuring that all CDLs granted are issued to immigrants with federally issued work permits.
Tensions between the White House and California
Tensions between the White House and California over CDL licenses have escalated following a series of fatal crashes involving immigrant drivers who only have work permits and are considered “illegal” by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Duffy criticized California for giving a license to Indian-born Harjinder Singh, who was arrested on Aug. 12 when his truck made a U-turn in an unauthorized area on a Florida highway, killing three people.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles defended itself, saying Singh had a work permit issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
He noted that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is requiring California to conduct a complete audit of all nonresident commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to ensure all “illegally issued” licenses have been revoked and to correct the deficiencies that allowed them to be issued.
Last October, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would withhold more than $40 million from California after an investigation found the state did not meet English proficiency standards set by the Trump administration for commercial drivers.
jc (efe, ap)
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