A new lawsuit has been filed on behalf of nearly 20,000 immigrant truck drivers against the California Department of Motor Vehicles after the state notified them that their commercial driver’s licenses will be canceled over what the complaint calls an administrative “date” error. Plaintiffs — backed by the Asian Law Caucus, the Sikh Coalition and Weil, Gotshal & Manges — say the DMV plans to pull the plug on livelihoods starting January 5, 2026 unless a court intervenes, and they’re asking a judge to stop the mass cancellations and force corrective reissuance. This isn’t a sleepy bureaucratic tiff; it’s a class-action aimed at halting a sweeping enforcement action that would immediately strain supply chains and small businesses.
According to the complaint, California sent a November notice to roughly 17,299 drivers and followed up in December with another 2,700 notices, saying their non-domiciled CDLs would be revoked because expiration dates didn’t match federal work-authorizations. The plaintiffs argue the DMV failed to follow its own procedures, offering no clear correction process and even demanding licenses be surrendered in some DMV offices, which they say is coercive and chaotic. The practical consequence is predictable: thousands of drivers could be forced off the road overnight, disrupting deliveries, farms, and everyday Americans who rely on a functioning trucking industry.
This fight isn’t happening in a vacuum — it follows a federal push to tighten CDL rules after deadly crashes involving out-of-status drivers and a ferocious crackdown from President Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, who has publicly threatened to pull federal highway funds and decertify state CDL programs that don’t comply. The DOT has asserted that audits found illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs in multiple states and has demanded corrective action, with the department making clear that public safety cannot be sacrificed to an ideological sanctuary-state posture. Conservatives who believe in the rule of law should cheer enforcement of federal safety standards rather than litigate to preserve the status quo.
That said, the legal back-and-forth is also evidence of how messy Washington-versus-state fights have become, with courts even stepping in to limit the administration’s ability to condition transportation grants on immigration cooperation. Judges have pushed back at times, creating legal uncertainty that leaves hard-working Americans stuck in the middle while both coastal elites and federal bureaucrats posture. The sensible Republican position is simple: secure the border, verify credentials, and ensure that any driver on our highways meets federal safety standards — but do so with a transparent, orderly process that doesn’t overnight destroy livelihoods or stall commerce.
Americans who put food on our tables and keep shelves stocked deserve leaders who enforce the law and protect public safety, not politicians who manufacture chaos to score political points. Gov. Newsom and other permissive governors should stop playing politics with trucking and either fix the compliance mess now or accept federal oversight — but they must not weaponize the courts to prevent accountability. If the lawsuit succeeds, it will only encourage more states to flout federal standards; if enforcement proceeds cleanly, it will restore the integrity of the CDL system and keep our highways safer for every American family.
