A group of 20,000 immigrant truck and commercial drivers sued California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday, alleging the agency violated their rights by planning to revoke thousands of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs)—many issued in error—after federal officials demanded proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful residency, according to a lawsuit.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A coalition of immigrant truck and commercial vehicle drivers filed a class-action lawsuit against California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday, accusing the agency of violating workers’ rights by moving to revoke thousands of unlawfully issued commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The DMV announced in November that it would begin canceling licenses in early 2026 unless drivers provided proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
By Dec. 10, the DMV halted the issuance of new licenses entirely, a decision the plaintiffs claim was made under “pressure from the federal government.” The lawsuit, filed on behalf of roughly 20,000 immigrant drivers and business owners, argues that administrative errors by the DMV have jeopardized their careers and financial stability.
“Plaintiffs have bought homes, cars, and trucks, relying on their ability to continue working a well-paying job that requires a CDL,” the lawsuit states. “Many drivers are the main or even sole providers for their families. The DMV’s actions will result in the loss of their hard-earned careers and impose severe financial and emotional hardships on the drivers and their families.”
The crackdown follows months of scrutiny from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who criticized California in October for ignoring federal English-language requirements for truck drivers. Duffy threatened to withhold $40 million in federal funds after a deadly accident involving an illegal immigrant truck driver who had obtained a CDL from California. The driver, Harjinder Singh, an Indian national living unlawfully in the U.S., was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide after killing three people in an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike in August. Singh had failed an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment, answering only two of 12 verbal questions correctly and identifying just one of four traffic signs, according to the Daily Caller.
Singh had illegally entered the U.S. in 2018 through the U.S.-Mexico border before obtaining his CDL in California.
In November, Duffy revealed that California’s DMV had admitted to unlawfully issuing 17,000 CDLs to non-domiciled migrant drivers—a number that has since ballooned to over 20,000, ABC News reported.
The drivers are represented by the Sikh Coalition and the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus, which have filed for an emergency injunction in Alameda County Superior Court to halt the license revocations. The lawsuit argues that the DMV’s abrupt policy shift—driven by federal enforcement pressure—has created chaos for immigrant workers who relied on their licenses for years without issue.
The case highlights the tension between federal immigration enforcement and state-level licensing practices, raising questions about due process, administrative accountability, and the economic fallout for thousands of drivers facing sudden job loss.
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