Sikh Coalition Lawsuit Halts Revocation of 17,000 California Truckers' Licences
The lawsuit challenged the state's decision to invalidate thousands of licences.
Sikh Coalition Lawsuit Halts Revocation of 17,000 California Truckers’ Licences
The state of California has delayed the revocation of about 17,000 commercial driver’s licences until March 2026. This came days after a group of immigrant truckers, represented by civil rights organisations including the Sikh Coalition, filed a class-action lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This marks a major development affecting immigrant truck drivers in the United States.
The lawsuit challenged the state’s decision to invalidate thousands of licences, which were initially scheduled to be revoked starting January 5, 2026, following pressure from federal officials. California authorities said the postponement is aimed at giving them additional time to ensure that drivers who lawfully qualify retain their licences and avoid wrongful cancellations.
The controversy stems from an audit and federal scrutiny that found problems in how the state issued and recorded licence expiration dates, especially for drivers whose immigration authorisations expired or were not properly verified. In response, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that California could lose up to USD 160 million in federal funding if it failed to meet the original deadline, having already withheld USD 40 million over concerns such as enforcement of English proficiency and immigration status checks.
Duffy criticised the extension on social platform X and said that California does “NOT have an ‘extension’ to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads”. California had begun issuing notices invalidating the licences under federal pressure aimed at ensuring that immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally do not hold commercial driver’s licences.
Immigrant drivers, who make up roughly 20% of the truck-driving workforce, though non-domiciled licences available to immigrants constitute only about 5% of all commercial licences, rallied against the state’s action, claiming the enforcement was unfairly targeting immigrant communities and jeopardising livelihoods.
Munmeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, described the delay as “an important step towards alleviating the immediate threat that these drivers are facing to their lives and livelihoods”.
The state’s move to postpone revocations while it works on a process to verify eligibility and address administrative errors brings temporary relief to thousands of truckers and bus drivers who depend on these licences for their work and economic stability.
Source: The Tribune