Article Summary
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and California lawmakers are opposing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's non-domiciled CDL rule, arguing it lacks sufficient safety data and illegally extends the government's immigration enforcement authority beyond what Congress authorized.
- The Congressional Hispanic Caucus led 25 House Democrats in filing an amicus brief arguing the rule illegally expands government powers.
- 21 California lawmakers sent a letter to DOT Secretary Sean Duffy expressing concern over the non-domiciled CDL rule and $160 million in withheld highway funding.
- State lawmakers called for DOT to restore California's federal funding, rescind the non-domiciled CDL rule, and reinstate programs nationwide.
Two groups of lawmakers recently voiced their opposition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s non-domiciled CDL rule.
Both the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) of 25 House Democrats and a delegation of 21 California Senators and Representatives have called on FMCSA to rescind the rule.
The CHC filed an amicus brief in Rivera Lujan v. FMCSA on June 22, arguing against FMCSA’s rulemaking banning non-domiciled CDLs.
The group argued that the rule “illegally expands the government's powers by directing the agency to enforce immigration priorities that Congress did not write into law.”
"The CHC is once again stepping in to stop the Trump administration's xenophobic abuse of power. Trump and his cronies are dead-set on finding ways to destroy families, tear down the livelihood of honest workers, and to increase costs for all Americans," said CHC Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-New York). "We will be relentless in our efforts to stop the pillaging of America. We will be relentless in our support of working families -- of the hearts, bodies and minds who contribute to our collective wellbeing."
In its brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Caucus argued that the final rule should be thrown out because the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act that gave the DOT authority to establish a safety and licensing regime for commercial drivers “provides no statutory authority” for FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL rule.
“To eke from the statute’s safety-focused text a rule about immigration status is contrary to the plain text of the statute and stretches the CMVSA beyond recognition,” the brief argues. “Congress did not secretly bestow novel work authorization authority over hundreds of thousands of immigrants when it directed the Secretary to issue regulations regarding ‘ensuring the fitness of an individual operating a commercial motor vehicle.’”
[Related: DACA-recipient CDL holders have hope?]
The Caucus also argued that the final rule is invalid because it’s “arbitrary and capricious.”
“Its stated justifications -- difficulty in verifying driver histories and purported state noncompliance -- do not match the breadth of the exclusions, and the agency bypassed obvious alternatives,” the Caucus added in the brief. “This mismatch reveals the agency’s true goal: to advance immigration policy and dress it up as safety policy.”
In conclusion, the Caucus argued that “Congress retains the authority to address policy questions concerning immigration status and commercial driver licensing through the legislative process. Until Congress acts, the agency must operate within the statutory authority Congress has provided -- not annex Congress’s policymaking authority. The Court should set aside the Final Rule.”
The CHC is the latest to file an amicus brief in support of Jorge Rivera Lujan against FMCSA’s rulemaking. Florida waste management company Waste Pro filed a similar brief earlier this month.
[Related: Trash collector attacks logic behind FMCSA's non-domiciled ban]
California fires back over $160 million funding loss
In a June 11 letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a delegation of 21 California Senators and Representatives expressed “significant concern” over the rule, as well as DOT’s withholding of transportation funding from California.
“We recognize the Department’s commitment to safety, and California shares this goal,” the lawmakers said. “However, while the Department justifies these measures as an emergency safety correction, we believe the most effective path forward is to address these concerns collaboratively, guided by evidence and shared data.”
The group added that allegations of states engaging in illegal behavior “grossly mischaracterize standard state practice and ignores the fact that these drivers hold valid legal work authorization.” The lawmakers added that before FMCSA’s rulemaking, there was no “unified standard” from the federal government “syncing CDL durations with periodic work authorization timelines.”
The delegation called FMCSA’s final rule and DOT’s action to withhold $160 million in highway funding from California “punitive actions that undermine road safety and the integrity of our national supply chain and workforce.”
[Related: Trump's FMCSA effectively ends non-domiciled CDLs]
FMCSA’s rule restricting non-domiciled CDL eligibility to only H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visas, the delegation added, is “indefensible,” as it locks out individuals working under valid Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). FMCSA in its rulemaking explicitly highlighted EADs as being difficult to use to determine driver eligibility.
“While the D.C. Circuit Court declined to grant an emergency motion to stay the Final Rule on May 5, it did not dispute the reality that the Department lacks safety data to justify this rule,” the lawmakers said. “Furthermore, the agency has shifted to a new justification in its Final Rule, arguing that the excluded drivers possess ‘unvetted foreign driving histories.’ This rationale is fundamentally flawed, as it completely ignores the reality that many of the 194,000 excluded drivers have resided in the United States for years or decades, building verifiable domestic driving records within the United States.”
With DOT’s intent of prioritizing safety, the group said, lawmakers encouraged the adoption of recommendations from “road safety experts and the National Transportation Safety Board, such as requiring automatic emergency braking in commercial motor vehicles or addressing driver fatigue or distraction-related risks.”
[Related: DOT makes it official: California loses $160M over non-domiciled CDL battle]
The lawmakers also called on DOT to:
- Restore federal funding to California
- Rescind the non-domiciled CDL final rule
- Reinstate non-domiciled CDL programs across the country
“We stand ready to work with the Department on data-driven reforms and safety audits to ensure consistent, nationwide standards without targeting an essential workforce,” the letter concluded. The lawmakers asked for a formal response from DOT by July 8.
[Related: FMCSA's non-domiciled CDL ban scores major victory in clash with non-citizen drivers]
