A federal audit has found that New York State is routinely issuing unlawful or illegal commercial driver\u2019s licenses \u2013 which are valid for up to eight years \u2013 to foreign applicants with expired visas or work authorizations.<\/p>\n
The audit, conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, revealed that 53% of more than 32,000 nondomiciled CDLs issued by the state failed to comply with federal law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we uncovered in New York is not an administrative oversight \u2013 it\u2019s a systematically, grossly unacceptable deviation from a federal safety regulation that has been on the books for a long period of time,\u201d said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs, alongside Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at a press briefing in New York on Friday.<\/p>\n
Barrs said FMCSA\u2019s audit found that New York \u201cblindly issues non-domiciled CDLs with an eight-year expiration \u2013 long past when drivers should lawfully be in this country,\u201d and also \u201cuncovered numerous examples where New York relied upon expired, lawful-presence documents to issue CDLs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barrs said the state must immediately pause the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs and commercial learner\u2019s permits and conduct a comprehensive audit of all non-domiciled credentials that have been issued. The state must also \u201cvoid, rescind, and reissue all licenses that were not issued in compliance with federal law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 53% percent failure rate is unacceptable, and FMCSA will not look the other way,\u201d Barrs said. \u201cWe look forward to working with the state of New York so that they will come into compliance to make sure our roadways are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOT and FMCSA are giving the state 30 days to respond and to comply with the federal order. \u201cIf New York refuses to come into compliance, we\u2019re going to pull tens of millions of [federal funds] from the state of New York,\u201d Duffy warned.<\/p>\n
The enforcement of non-domiciled CDLs in New York state follows similar crackdowns initiated recently and are ongoing in California, Minnesota, and Washington state.<\/p>\n
Asked at the press conference if the audits crackdowns will have an effect on the ability to deliver holiday packages, Duffy assured that \u201cwe don\u2019t see this as impacting the ability to ship products across the country. The main point is we\u2019re going to do this safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duffy also emphasized that the recent crackdowns are not due to a change in regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have this problem because Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg did not enforce the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillions of people came into the country during [the Biden-Buttigieg] tenure when these rules were in place but they turned a blind eye, and we saw the safety on our roadways diminish. But Derek and I are going to enforce the law and hold states accountable and make sure Americans are safer. President Trump gave us that directive, and it\u2019s the right directive.\u201d<\/p>\n
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