The US state of California is preparing to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licences issued to foreigners after the Donald Trump administration raised concerns that many were improperly granted to illegal immigrants. The decision follows a nationwide audit of commercial driving licences that began after a fatal crash in Florida in August, in which an illegal Indian migrant truck driver made a U-turn, causing a collision that killed three people.
Officials have not revealed the nationality breakdown of those affected, but reports suggest a large number of Indian-origin truckers—especially from the Sikh community—will likely be impacted. Over the past decade, Indian and Indian-American drivers have filled critical labour shortages in the US trucking industry, particularly in California, where the lack of native truckers has been severe.
California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that the licences were being revoked because their expiration dates extended beyond the drivers’ authorised stay in the country. The California State Transportation Agency said the discovery was made after a review showed several licences remained valid even after visa expirations.
The move comes in the wake of another deadly accident in California last month involving an Indian illegal immigrant truck driver, which killed three people and heightened scrutiny of the issue. The controversy has now escalated into a political standoff between California’s Democratic administration and the Trump-led federal government, which has accused the state of failing to enforce immigration and safety rules.
US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy strongly criticised California’s handling of the matter, accusing the state of mismanagement. “After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licences are being revoked,” Duffy said in a statement. He added that his department would continue to ensure that every illegal immigrant was removed from behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.
Duffy’s department has already withheld $40 million in federal funds, claiming California failed to enforce English-language proficiency standards for drivers. He also warned of an additional $160 million in cuts if the state did not revoke all improper licences.
In September, Duffy announced new federal rules for commercial driving licences, restricting eligibility to holders of only three visa categories—H-2A, H-2B, and E-2. Under these rules, states must verify immigration status using a federal database, and licenses will remain valid for only one year or until the visa expires. The Associated Press reported that just 10,000 of the 200,000 non-citizen commercial drivers in the US will qualify under the new system.
The crackdown is expected to severely impact Indian-origin truckers, many of whom arrived in the US on student, visitor, or expired work visas and found employment in the logistics sector. A 2019 Los Angeles Times report described Indian truckers, particularly from Punjab’s Doaba and Majha regions, as the backbone of California’s freight system.
Industry experts have warned that the revocations could worsen the driver shortage, given the trucking and agriculture sectors’ heavy reliance on immigrant labour. For thousands of Indian-origin drivers, losing their licences could mean immediate unemployment and potential deportation proceedings if found to be residing illegally.
California’s government, while agreeing to implement the federal directive, has accused the Trump administration of political overreach, arguing that the move risks destabilising the state’s supply chain at a time when demand for freight services remains high.
