WATCH: Duffy threatens to withhold millions in highway funds from New York over flaws in commercial driver’s license system for immigrants

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that New York routinely issues commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants, which may be valid long after they are legally allowed to be in the country, and threatened to withhold $73 million in highway funds unless the system is fixed and any defective licenses are revoked.

Watch Duffy’s remarks in the video player above.

State officials said they follow all federal rules on licensing and check the immigration status of drivers.

New York is the fourth state under a Democratic governor that Duffy has targeted in his efforts to make sure truck and bus drivers are eligible for commercial licenses. The review was launched after a truck driver unauthorized in the United States made an illegal turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people in August. But the rules regarding these licenses have been in place for years.

The Department of Transportation said it is reviewing these non-local licenses nationwide, but so far no states run by Republican governors have been targeted. But Duffy said Friday that the effort is not political, and he hopes New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will take responsibility and work with him. He said it’s about making sure everyone behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck is qualified and safe.

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

“Let’s hold hands and sing Christmas music and fix your system,” Duffy said. Instead, he said, the response appears to be trying to “dodge, divert and spin” without taking responsibility for the problems.

Duffy said federal investigators found that more than half of the 200 licenses they reviewed in New York were issued incorrectly, with many failing to be valid for eight years regardless of when an immigrant’s work permit expires. He said the state could not prove that it verified the immigration status of those drivers for the 32,000 active non-domestic business licenses it issued. Additionally, investigators found some examples of licenses being issued in New York even when applicants’ work permits had already expired.

“When more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, this is not just a mistake — it is a dereliction of duty by state leadership,” Duffy said. “Governor Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses.”

He watches: Duffy says states should revoke commercial driver’s licenses from foreigners who overstay their visas

New York has 30 days to respond to these concerns. State DMV spokesman Walter McClure defended the state’s practices.

“Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to divert attention from the failed and chaotic administration he represents. This is the truth: commercial driver’s licenses are regulated by the federal government, and the New York State DMV has adhered to federal rules and will continue to do so,” McClure said.

Duffy has previously threatened to withdraw federal funding from New York if the state does not abandon its plan to charge drivers due to congestion in New York City and if crime in the subway system is not addressed. The Department of Transportation also halted $18 billion in funding for two major infrastructure projects in New York, including a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, over concerns about whether the spending was based on unconstitutional diversity, equity and inclusion principles.

Immigrants represent about 20% of all truck drivers, but these non-local licenses represent only about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses. The Department of Transportation also proposed new restrictions that would severely limit the ability of noncitizens to obtain a license, but a court blocked the new rules.

Duffy threatened to withhold millions from California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota after audits found major problems under current rules such as business licenses being valid long after an immigrant truck driver’s work permit expires. This pressure prompted the state of California to cancel 17,000 licenses.