The California Department of Motor Vehicles is being sued over the state's plan to revoke the commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) of nearly 20,000 immigrant truck drivers.
The Asian Law Caucus and the Sikh Coalition, along with the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, filed the class action lawsuit Tuesday in an effort to stop the DMV from canceling non-domiciled CDLs — a move the complaint says would "result in mass work stoppages" beginning Jan. 5.
"This class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of the Jakara Movement and five commercial drivers who have been deprived of their rights and livelihoods," the groups said in a joint statement.
"According to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and KQED, California state officials communicated they would begin reissuing licenses on December 17. Despite these public assurances, the state has neither reissued any of the contested licenses nor created a process to remedy the date issue with no indication that it plans to do so before January 5."
According to the complaint, the DMV notified 17,299 immigrant drivers and business owners that their non-domiciled CDLs would be canceled Jan. 5 due to an error involving the expiration dates. A similar letter was sent to an additional 2,700 drivers in December notifying them that their licenses would be canceled in mid-February.
The lawsuit states that the DMV must set a CDL expiration date for an immigrant driver on the same day as — or earlier than — the expiration date of the driver's work authorization or legal presence documents.
The suit alleges the DMV notices violated California procedures, which would require the department to cancel the license without prejudice or correct the expiration date.
"For all 19,999 immigrants, the DMV intends to cancel their commercial licenses without affording any opportunity to obtain a corrected license or to contest the cancellation," the complaint reads.
The filing further states that "despite its own regulation, the DMV did not consistently ensure that a CDL's expiration date matched the end of a person's period of work authorization or lawful presence."
The suit follows a heated public dispute in November between the federal government and California after the Department of Transportation announced the state was planning to revoke about 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's office pushed back on the DOT's assertion that California "admitted to illegally issuing" the licenses.
The lawsuit says notices were sent to more than the reported 17,000 drivers.
The complaint argues the cancellations would have broad consequences, saying the drivers "play an indispensable role in our local and national economies, providing essential services that communities rely on every day, including transporting food, driving children to school, and delivering manufactured goods."
"The sudden loss of their ability to work threatens not only their livelihoods but also the stability of our supply chains and services on which the public depends," the lawsuit reads.
The suit is asking a judge to issue a writ of mandate and preliminary or permanent injunction requiring the DMV to ensure affected drivers can obtain corrected CDLs "without interruption to their driving privileges."
A spokesperson for the California Department of Motor Vehicles said the agency could not comment on pending litigation.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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