Court blocks new Department of Transportation rules targeting immigrant commercial drivers

New Department of Transportation restrictions that would severely limit immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses to drive a semi-trailer truck or bus have been put on hold by a federal appeals court.

A court in the District of Columbia ruled Thursday that rules announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in September a month after an unauthorized truck driver in the United States made an illegal turn and caused a Florida crash that killed three people cannot be enforced now.

Read more: California cancels 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants

The court said the federal government did not follow proper procedure in drafting the rule and failed to “articulate a satisfactory explanation of how the rule promotes safety.” Data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show that immigrants with such licenses account for nearly 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses but only about 0.2% of all fatal crashes, the court said.

Duffy has been pressing the issue in California because the driver in the Florida crash had a California driver’s license, and a review of that state’s records showed that many immigrants obtained licenses in California that were valid long after their work permits expired. Earlier this week, California revoked 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses due to the problem. These licenses were invalidated under the old, existing rules – not under the new proposed restrictions affected by this court order.

Neither Duffy nor California Governor Gavin Newsom immediately responded Friday to questions about the ruling. Newsom’s office said the state followed guidance it received from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on issuing these licenses to noncitizens.

The Florida incident, along with fatal truck accidents in Texas and Alabama earlier this year, highlighted questions about those licenses, Duffy said. A fiery crash in California that killed three people last month left a truck driver in the country illegally, raising concerns.

The driver in the Florida crash, Harjinder Singh, appeared before a judge in St. Lucie County, Florida, on Thursday, where his lawyers asked to continue court proceedings into January as they prepare for trial. Singh has pleaded not guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter.

The new restrictions on these licenses will only allow immigrants with three specific visa categories to be eligible for the licenses. States will also have to check the applicant’s immigration status in a federal database. The licenses will be valid for up to one year unless the applicant’s visa expires sooner.

Under the new rules, only 10,000 of the 200,000 noncitizens with business licenses will be eligible for them, which will only be available to drivers with an H-2a, H-2b or E-2 visa. The H-2a is for temporary agricultural workers while the H-2b is for temporary non-agricultural workers, and the E-2 is for people who make significant investments in U.S. businesses. But the rules won’t be applied retroactively, so those 190,000 drivers will be allowed to keep their business licenses at least until it’s time to renew.

Trucking trade groups such as the Independent Owner-Operator Drivers Association have supported the new rule. There is a bill in Congress that would enshrine new restrictions on commercial driver’s licenses into law.

“For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truck drivers and the motoring public at risk,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Trucking Association.

Duffy said California and five other states improperly issued commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens, but California is the only state Duffy has taken action against because it was the first where an audit was completed. Reviews in other states have been delayed by the government shutdown, but the Department of Transportation is urging them all to tighten their standards.

Duffy eliminated $40 million in federal funding because he said California doesn’t impose English language requirements on truck drivers, and he said earlier this week that he could take another $160 million from the state for these improperly issued licenses if they don’t invalidate every illegal license and address all the concerns.

Associated Press writer Kate Payne contributed to this report from Tallahassee, Florida.