A group of immigrant truckers sued California’s Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday, claiming that the state violated thousands of workers’ rights when officials took action to revoke their commercial driver’s licenses.
Last month, California officials announced that approximately 17,000 truckers would have their licenses revoked due to their expired immigration status; the number has since escalated to 21,000.
The decision follows a crackdown initiated by the Trump administration on states issuing commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants, with threats of financial penalties for states like California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and New York.
The Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Caucus have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of these truckers, asserting that the license revocations infringe upon their due process rights and jeopardize their livelihoods.
Munmeeth Kaur, the legal director of the Sikh Coalition, stated, “These drivers have spent years anchoring their lives to these careers, only to now face potential economic ruin through no fault of their own — they deserve better, and California must do better.”
As the lawsuit seeks to pause the DMV's license cancellations, the DMV has remained silent on the ongoing litigation.
Concerns surrounding immigrant truck drivers were amplified following incidents involving fatal accidents in Florida and California, where drivers lacked proper immigration authorization.
