The state of New York has become the latest to be identified as frequently granting commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants whose legal status in the United States has lapsed, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. On Friday, Duffy warned that the state faces the possibility of losing $73 million in highway funding unless these discrepancies are corrected and any improperly issued licenses are revoked.

This development marks New York as the fourth Democrat-led state to publicly come under scrutiny by Duffy, who is determined to ensure that individuals driving trucks and buses are suitably qualified to transport passengers or hefty loads of up to 80,000 pounds. Previously, Duffy has raised similar concerns regarding the licensing procedures in California, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.

Beyond the states governed by Democrats, Duffy’s department has discreetly issued warnings to other states, including Republican-led Texas and South Dakota, without drawing public attention or comment.

Federal audits have not only identified licenses that have remained active beyond their validity but also uncovered cases where states might have neglected to verify the immigration status of applicants before issuing licenses. These audits involve examining a representative sample of licenses from each state.

Duffy’s initiative commenced in the summer, gaining heightened attention following a tragic incident in August. A truck driver lacking authorization to be in the U.S. executed an illegal U-turn, leading to a fatal accident in Florida that claimed three lives. The regulations governing these licenses, which the Transportation Department is now rigorously enforcing, have long been established.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent letters to Texas, South Dakota, Colorado, and Washington during the government shutdown in October.

Most of the states that have been the focus of the investigation so far have defended their practices and said they were following the federal rules. But Duffy has said the high percentage of problems in some states, combined with the defensive responses from officials, suggests a systematic problem, and he insisted Friday this effort is about safety — not politics.

“When more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, it isn’t just a mistake — it is a dereliction of duty by state leadership,” Duffy said about New York on Friday.

Investigators also found that nearly half of the 123 licenses reviewed in Texas were flawed. Some of the other states involved small numbers, but most of the problems were similar. Since Duffy pressed the issue in California, the state has revoked some 21,000 commercial driver’s licenses that were issued improperly.

The Transportation Department has threatened to withhold federal highway funding from these states — including $182 million in Texas and $160 million in California — if they don’t reform their licensing programs and invalidate any flawed licenses.

So far, no state has lost money because they complied or because they have more time to respond. But as part of a separate review, California lost $40 million for failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers that the Trump administration began enforcing this summer.

States defend their licensing practices

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson Walter McClure said the state is following all the federal rules.

“Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents. Here is the truth: Commercial Drivers Licenses are regulated by the Federal Government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules,” McClure said in a statement.

Duffy has previously threatened to pull federal funding from New York if the state did not abandon its plan to charge drivers a congestion pricing fee in New York City and if crime on the subway system was not addressed. The Transportation Department also put $18 billion of funding on hold for two major infrastructure projects in New York, including a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, because of concerns about whether the spending was based on diversity, equity and inclusion principles.

A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that “public safety is the Governor’s top priority, and we must ensure that truckers can navigate Texas roadways safely and efficiently. To support this mission, Governor Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to strictly enforce English language proficiency requirements and to stop issuing intrastate commercial driver’s licenses to drivers who do not meet those standards.”

Most of the other states have said they are working to address the concerns the Transportation Department raised.

Previous efforts to restrict immigrant truck drivers

Immigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers, but these non-domiciled licenses only represent about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses or about 200,000 drivers. The Transportation Department also proposed new restrictions that would severely limit which noncitizens could get a license, but a court put the new rules on hold.

Trucking trade groups have praised the effort to get unqualified drivers and drivers who can’t speak English off the road along with the Transportation Department’s actions last week to go after questionable commercial driver’s license schools. But immigrant advocacy groups have raised concerns these actions have led to harassment of immigrant drivers and prompted some of them to abandon the profession.

“For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truckers and the motoring public at risk,” said Todd Spencer, who is president of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association.

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