Semi tractor trailer (Photo: Public domain)
Audit Finds California Issued One in Four Commercial Drivers Licenses To Non Citizens
New rule closes dangerous loopholes, holds states accountable, and launches immediate enforcement action against California for gross negligence
By Megan Barth, September 26, 2025 1:15 pm
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced an emergency action today to “drastically restrict who is eligible for a non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs)” after an audit uncovered an “imminent hazard on America’s roadways” related to “both a catastrophic pattern of states issuing licenses illegally to foreign drivers” and a substandard regulatory framework wrought with dangerous loopholes.
FMSCA’s nationwide audit uncovered “systemic non-compliance, the worst and most egregious in California.” The agency found more than 25 percent of CDLs were improperly issued in California.
“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” said Secretary Duffy. “Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers – often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it. Today’s actions will prevent unsafe foreign drivers from renewing their license and hold states accountable to immediately invalidate improperly issued licenses.”
The audit cites weak oversight, insufficient training, and programming errors that allowed for CDLs to be issued to ineligible drivers and to drivers whose licenses remained valid after their lawful presence in the U.S. had expired.
The report highlights, “In one shocking case, California gave a driver from Brazil a CDL with endorsements to drive a passenger bus and a school bus that was valid for months after his legal presence expired.”
California has now been put on notice by Secretary Duffy and must, within 30 days:
- Pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
- Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations.
- Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the new federal requirements.
The rule is effective immediately. California has 30 days to come into compliance or FMSCA will withhold federal highway funds, starting at nearly $160 million in the first year and doubling in year two.
“California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe,” added Secretary Duffy. “California must get its act together immediately or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding. To every other state around the country – find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now. We owe it to the American people to ensure only lawful, qualified drivers are operating big rigs on our highways.”
“Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system,” the announcement read.
The audit follows a series of fatal crashes involving tractor trailer semis and President Trump’s Executive Order earlier this year that designated English as the official language of the United States.
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January 9, 2019
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ONE IN FOUR commercial driver licenses issued in CA went to people who are here illegally?
This is NOT GOOD. Not good at all. In fact, it’s downright scary. And of course, as noted, it endangers all Americans, not just Californians.
Is this about our election cheaters — through DMV “motor voter” nonsense, issuing DLs willy-nilly to illegals in order to print more counterfeit mail-in ballots? Or are we just seeing the usual negligent and shoddy B.S. we’ve come to expect in this state? Either way, good to know that Sean Duffy intends to quickly CLAMP DOWN. (!!!)
I’m starting to see a pattern here and it does not bode well for Newsom and California in general. Perhaps Newsom is starting to regret starting a fight with the Federal government. We will all see how this litigation plays out and I for one am looking forward to seeing how it concludes. Orange outfits might be in Newsoms future.
This is not joke. Here is a video of one of California’s illegal aliens driving a big rig killing three people in their minivan while making an illegal U-turn on a Florida turnpike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu4YqY0ul9c
This state is a disaster with the reckless Democrats, and it’s harming people in other states. Every time I look, there is some other horrible transgression.
A couple of years ago on SR99 I honked and accelerated to 90mph, next to a concrete freeway divid, through debris which included a chase lounge frame, to get in front and away from a tractor pulling 2 trailers as the driver talked on a cell phone and drifted into my #1 lane… totally oblivious.
I’ll end here.
…concrete freeway divider,
OH NO! That is HORRENDOUS.
I’m so grateful you are still with us, SkunkedinD7!
Thank you, Showandtell, very kind words.
I was informed that every trailer has a distinct identification number which traces to the freight business, the license plate is not as useful.
Thank you SkunkedinD7, the trailer i.D. number information is good to know. I can see where that displayed I.D. number is in my mind’s eye, so I know I’ve seen it thousands of times before.
Let me guess. They are voting, too!
Refresh my memory. In California doesn’t a drivers license automatically register you to vote?
Or some slight of hand like that?
Yep, California automatically registers residents to vote when they apply for or renew a driver’s license, obtain an identification card, or complete a change of address transaction at DMV, unless they choose to opt out. This process is part of the California Motor Voter program, which aims to streamline voter registration so the criminal Democrat thug mafia can more easily steal elections.
You’re the best, TJ.
What’s more, I suspect Gruesome sees the Trump election reform handwriting on the wall and this is part of what explains the unholy Prop 50 blatant election rigging of his redistricting power grab. You know, it’s worth it to call a $280 MILLION special election in November to cement the outrageous redistrict maps in CA so you can easily cheat one last time and, if you succeed, hold rigged elections favoring Dems FOREVER. Obviously, sensible people need to VOTE NO on Prop 50 in huge numbers in hopes of preventing this disaster.
And should Prop 50 fail, as it most likely will anyway if sensible voters make sure to VOTE, then there is the story of how the crooks responsible for mail fraud (recent Katy Grimes – or Megan Barth? – article here at the Globe) ties in to election cheat expert Jay Valentine’s scenario of crooked postal workers recruited and bribed to skim and pile up mail-in ballots at the post office, which ballots, once separated from their envelopes, can be filled in for whatever the CA commies want, win whatever election to favor the Dem politicians (and their destructive causes), and no one is the wiser. They can’t be traced.
Gotta go, more later..
Hopefully enough sensible people will vote no on Prop 50 to override all the Democrat voter fraud that will be unleashed!
Yes, TJ. Fingers crossed.
YES, TJ. We must all be sure to take action and VOTE NO on Prop 50. Fingers crossed.
Let me add that a need for the trailer number, instead of a license plate number, seems to me a nice way to obscure certain politically expedient projects inside the so called sanctuary.
I think this trend in leftist California Politics, to expand single party control by reorganizing DMV into a semi-autonomous – multipurpose administrative bureaucracy (for which it was never intended) has come to haunt real California citizens.
Agree –
Hopefully enough sensible people will vote no on Prop 50 to override all the Democrat voter fraud that will be unleashed!