California could cancel 17,000 Commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) is issued to immigrants who have a valid work permit at the time of obtaining their documents. The federal audit uncovered a series of irregularities in the validity of these credentials and unleashed… A new political confrontation between the administration of Gavin Newsom and the administration of President Donald Trump.
According to the official statement issued by the US Department of Transportation, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) These permits, which had exceeded their validity period, were granted to their holderswhich is contrary to both state law and federal regulations.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy reported This procedure is based on the results of the audit conducted Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA, for its abbreviation in English).
The report discovered systemic flaws in California’s DMV operations that allowed business licenses to be issued with more validity than a driver’s immigration status would allow.
Holders of these licenses They were notified that their documents would become invalid within 60 days. The FMCSA asked the State of California to fully report on the revocation of irregularly issued credentials and to correct the administrative mechanisms that facilitated their issuance.
However, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spokesman, Brandon Richards, all of them They earned their credentials during the period they had active federal work permitsa circumstance that initially supported the issuance of their CDL permits.
“These drivers are not illegal immigrants; They all have legal status and have a work permit granted by the federal government“The new federal requirements were not in effect when these licenses were issued,” Richards said in Post X. “The new federal requirements were not in effect when these licenses were issued,” he said.
The discovered violation does not lie in the lack of a work permit, but in The time discrepancy between the duration of licenses and the legal conditions for permanence.
California law states that a driver’s license cannot remain valid after the holder’s lawful immigration status expires, according to information recorded in DMV databases.
The announcement sparked a new confrontation between the state government and the federal administration. Sean Duffy has publicly accused Governor Gavin Newsom of allowing thousands of “illegal” licenses to be issued and He threatened to withhold up to $160 million in federal funds for road safety programs If the state does not cancel the documents in question.
“After weeks of denying any wrongdoing, the state was discovered. The Transport Minister announced now that we have exposed their lies.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. My team will continue to put pressure on California “To show that he removed all the illegal immigrants from the buses and school buses,” Duffy added.
In response, Governor Newsom’s office denied that the state acted illegally. Richards called Duffy’s statements “false and politically motivated” and made that clear The revocation is based on a technical amendment to state lawwhich states that the expiration date of the credential must coincide with the validity of the immigration status reported to the DMV.
“Once again, Sean ‘Rules of the Road’ Duffy does not share the truth and easily spreads disproven lies in a sad and desperate attempt to please his beloved leader,” he commented on X. “However, he has finally admitted that The federal government issued work permits to these driversHe confirmed.
California law requires that non-citizen CDLs have an expiration date equal to or earlier than the U.S. legal residence or employment document.
but, The FMCSA review found that in thousands of cases licenses were issued with validity periods that exceeded this limit.
Although the 17,000 affected drivers had a valid work permit at the time they obtained their licence, Their documents were deemed invalid because they did not comply with the temporary correspondence required by law.
This procedure does not apply to standard driving licenses issued under the law Law A B 60which allows residents who do not have regular immigration status to obtain a driver’s permit. On the other hand, CDLs Subject to the most stringent federal regulationsBecause it enables drivers to drive large vehicles and transport goods or passengers.
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