The California DMV quickly complied with the new rule from the Department of Transportation. If they hadn’t, they would have lost $160 million in state highway funding.
Any driver whose immigration status expired before their license expired was affected. This includes asylum seekers, refugees, and recipients of DACA.
The U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says immigrant drivers pose a “significant threat” to the public.
A class-action lawsuit filed by the Sikh Coalition and Asian Law Caucus says the cancellation violates state law. They say the DMV made a clerical error that the drivers are now being punished for.
Advocates say this is going to have a serious impact on supply chains and shipping costs.
Many of these drivers lease or own their trucks, and will now face repaying major loans as they try to figure out basic survival.
This week, a judge in Alameda County ordered the DMV to give these drivers the opportunity to reapply for their licenses. However, applications could remain pending for up to a year while the DMV waits for federal authorization.
