A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. ruled on Thursday the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) restrictions on immigrants obtaining commercial driver’s licenses cannot be enforced.
The restrictions were announced in September, after an illegal immigrant truck driver was accused of causing a tractor-trailer crash that killed three people in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Harjinder Singh, an Indian citizen who allegedly illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico in 2018, pleaded not guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter after allegedly jackknifing his truck during an illegal U-turn, causing a van to smash into the side of the tractor-trailer.
The court found the federal government did not follow proper procedure when creating the new rule, or explain how the rule would promote safety.
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Judges also noted Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data shows about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses belong to immigrants, though they only account for about 0.2% of fatal crashes.
Singh, who received his license in California, failed his CDL knowledge exam in Washington state 10 times within two months and failed his air brakes knowledge exam twice, according to the Florida Attorney General’s Office. He also failed an English proficiency test.
An audit of California records showed that many immigrants’ licenses remained valid long after their work permits expired, leading the state to revoke 17,000 licenses.
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The new DOT restrictions would allow immigrants who hold three specific classes of visas to obtain commercial licenses valid for one year, and require immigration status to be confirmed via a federal database.
Though the rules would disqualify about 10,000 of the 200,000 current immigrants with commercial licenses, the rules would not be enforced—meaning drivers could keep their licenses until they expire.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents more than 150,000 independent owner-operators, thanked the administration for its efforts to “restore commonsense safety standards” in an Aug. 26 statement.
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“OOIDA applauds the Administration for seeing through the myth of a truck driver shortage and continuing efforts to restore commonsense safety standards on our nation’s highways,” OOIDA president Todd Spencer wrote in a statement. “Pausing visas for commercial truck drivers will help ensure only qualified individuals get licensed. Additionally, there is unlikely to be any negative effect on the supply chain, as the trucking industry continues to face overcapacity.”
“The misuse of visa programs along with the rise of non-domiciled CDL holders in recent years has fueled a flood of drivers into our country who struggle to operate safely in full compliance with regulations,” Spencer continued. “We are working with the Administration and Congress on implementing more comprehensive licensing and training standards that will prevent unsafe drivers from ever getting behind the wheel.”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced in October the administration is withholding $40 million from California over its refusal to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Fox News Digital previously reported.
To have funding reinstated, the state must ensure state inspectors test truck drivers’ English during roadside inspections, and remove those who fail.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
