By Matthew Vadum
Contributing Writer
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said his state is suing California and Washington state over their policy of allegedly ignoring federal rules regarding the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses.
The new lawsuit comes weeks after the federal government unveiled stricter criteria for the issuance of CDLs.
Uthmeier made the statement on his official website on Oct. 16, indicating that the lawsuit has been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation’s highest court has not yet docketed the lawsuit.
The U.S. Constitution gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction, or authority, to try disputes between the states as a court of first impression. In such cases, the court often appoints a judicial officer called a special master to hear the case and issue a recommendation to the justices on how to rule.
“California’s and Washington’s open defiance of federal immigration laws is well-documented,” according to Florida’s proposed bill of complaint.
“Both states routinely frustrate and hinder federal law enforcement from addressing the immigration crisis and the destruction that accompanies it,” Florida’s acting Solicitor General Jeffrey DeSousa said in the document.
Federal law provides that states issuing CDLs adhere to safety and immigration status standards, but California and Washington “ignore these standards and authorize illegal immigrants without proper training or the ability to read road signs to drive commercial motor vehicles,” the document said.
The two states are endangering citizens in their own states and other states that obey federal law and adhere to CDL safety standards, according to the complaint.
Florida became the “most recent victim” when an illegal immigrant licensed by both California and Washington and driving an 18-wheeler initiated a U-turn across a busy Florida highway that led to three fatalities. The driver could neither read not speak English, the document said.
DeSousa was referring to the Aug. 12 incident in which Harjinder Singh, a native of India, made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike. A minivan containing three occupants could not avoid the truck’s trailer as it stretched across the lanes.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said Singh came to the United States unlawfully in 2018 and was able to get a CDL in California. The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that Washington state had previously issued him a CDL, even though illegal immigrants — or those seeking asylum — are not supposed to be eligible to receive one.
Congress created an “extensive regulatory scheme governing CDLs” because it recognized the “ubiquity, and danger, of commercial motor vehicles,” according to the proposed bill of complaint.
On April 28, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14286 directing the Department of Transportation to take action to prevent drivers who are not proficient in English from operating commercial trucks in the United States.
The order required the federal agency to investigate practices surrounding the validation of foreign drivers’ licenses and the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, which are issued to individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor legal permanent residents but have legal authorization to work in the United States.
Months later, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced new regulations requiring drivers unable to pass an English proficiency test to be taken off-duty. On Aug. 26, he said California, Washington and New Mexico were not in compliance and could lose tens of millions of dollars in federal funding under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. On Sept. 26, Duffy announced new, stricter requirements for the issuance of CDLs.
Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for the Washington state attorney general’s office, criticized Florida’s new lawsuit, saying it was “wrong on the facts and the law.”
“It is clearly a shameless political stunt rather than a real legal claim,” Faulk said.
The office of the attorney general of California had not responded to a request for comment by publication time.
Stacy Robinson and Austin Alonzo contributed to this report.
