After Sikh group lawsuit, California delays revocation of 17,000 truckers’ licenses

State postpones action until March as US transportation officials warn of a January 5 deadline, potential $160 million funding loss

SACAMENTO (TIP): A week after a group of immigrant truckers sued California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, California said Tuesday that it will delay revocation of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses until March, giving authorities more time to ensure that truckers and bus drivers who legally qualify for the licenses can retain them.

According to HT, citing an Associated Press report, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the state could lose $160 million in federal funding if it fails to meet a January 5 deadline to revoke the license. He has already withheld $40 million, saying California is not enforcing English proficiency requirements for truck drivers.

California sent notices invalidating the license after pressure from Duffy to ensure that immigrants who are in the country illegally are not granted commercial licenses. “California does NOT have an ‘extension’ to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads,” Duffy posted on the social platform X.

“Our number one mission is to ensure that every American gets home safely. We’re backing aggressive enforcement and empowering states to keep unqualified, unvetted drivers off the road with over $118 MILLION in grants. 2026 is the year of safer roads!” he said in another post.

Concerns about immigrant truck drivers gained attention after a tractor-trailer driver who was not authorized to be in the US made an illegal U-turn and caused an August crash in Florida that killed three people. A fiery California crash that also killed three people in October and involved a Sikh truck driver in the country illegally added to the worries.

The Sikh Coalition, a national civil rights group, and the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of affected California drivers, arguing that immigrant truck drivers were being unfairly targeted.

Immigrants make up about 20% of all truck drivers, while non-domiciled licenses available to immigrants account for about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, or roughly 200,000 drivers, the report said.

Munmeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, said the delay “is an important step towards alleviating the immediate threat that these drivers are facing to their lives and livelihoods.”

The federal government had threatened to withhold millions of dollars in funding from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New York after audits found major problems, including licenses remaining valid long after immigrant truck drivers’ work permits expired.