Posted on 10/24/2025 7:14:12 AM PDT by TigerClaws
Two national public employee unions sued the Trump administration over its restrictions preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial drivers licenses.
The American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a petition for review against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The employee unions challenged a rule implemented by Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy restricting foreign individuals from receiving commercial drivers licenses.
Commercial drivers licenses are used for operating large vehicles such as tractor-trailers and buses. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow unauthorized immigrants to receive commercial drivers licenses.
In California, more than 25% of commercial drivers' licenses were improperly issued, according to a Department of Transportation press release.
“The process for issuing these licenses is absolutely 100% broken. It has become a threat to public safety, and it is a national emergency that requires action right now,” Duffy said.
The unions argued these restrictions would prevent asylum seekers, refugees and DACA recipients from accessing commercial driver's licenses.
“This unlawful rule seems intended to put people authorized to work in the United States out of work, solely because of the prejudices of the Trump administration,” said Wendy Liu, attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group, in a news release.
The Department of Transportation issued the rule to crack down on commercial drivers licenses for illegal immigrants after a deadly Florida collision involving a commercial tractor-trailer left three people dead.
The rule restricts non-citizen applicants to only those in visa programs like the H-1B, H-2A and H-2B. It also requires non-citizen applicants to provide an unexpired foreign passport or arrival/departure record to obtain the license.
The rule would also require state licensing agencies to verify the accuracy of citizenship status and application documents in order to issue a commercial driver's license.
In a separate incident, an Oct. 21 collision on a California highway left three people dead after a semi-truck slammed into multiple vehicles.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday that the driver of the semi-truck was an illegal immigrant who obtained his commercial driver's license in California. She said the driver of the semi-truck was intoxicated and driving under the influence and was released by the Biden administration after crossing the southern border in 2022.
“These tragedies are following a disturbing pattern of these criminal illegal aliens being issued commercial drivers' licenses,” Leavitt said.
The employee unions argue that loss of commercial drivers' licenses for immigrants will cause businesses and livelihoods to suffer.
“Drivers who take our children to school, deliver food and medicine, and clean trash off the streets must have these commercial driver's licenses, and denying them inflicts unnecessary pain on everyone their lives touch,” said Lee Saunders, AFSCME president.
Anything Trump does - they oppose.
California alone gave out 62,000 of these (see below).
100,000 illegal aliens who may not speak English and certainly don’t follow our laws driving big rigs on our road endangering Americans. Oklahoma alone has revoke over 5,000 CDLs already.
https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1981493190541947059
bttt
What does the AFT have to do with giving illegals licenses?
WTF, we shouldn’t be giving illegals drivers licenses in the first place.
This article used the leftist euphemism “undocumented immigrants” instead of the more correct wording “illegal aliens.”
Not exactly staying in their lanes. One wonders if their corporate charters even allow this, never mind their tax-exempt status.
Absolutely NOTHING.
NO STANDING.
On what planet does the friggin’ Teachers Union have any interest in the licensure requirements for truck drivers?
It’s an absurdity on its face and shows that the “union” only serves the interests of a dying political party, not its members.
ANY state that issues CDLs to illegals should be sued into oblivion.
No standing.
Not any of their business................
If the two national public employee unions had any brains they would sue the states that give them drivers license.
TDS strikes again
Now, now, they don’t oppose anything Trump does. The oppose everything he does.
I guess it’s appropriate since it’s NATIONAL BOLOGNA DAY!
Wow. These people have absolutely zero ability to step outside theirselves and see how other people see them.
Pathetic.
Not surprised with any Teacher’s union. They are out to destroy children, and if they can get it done on a school bus before they even show up at the school, all the better from their perspective.
Less work, and that is what they are all about.
The quickest way to stop this atrocity is by the insurance companies’ voiding/denying coverage to firms using these drivers. Self-insured firms will have to set aside large sums in escrow/bond.
Trump needs to shut those criminal unions down and put everyone connected to them IN PRISON.
No leg to stand on,lefty unions
What possible standing could they have?
How do teachers have standing?
Unions are completely worthless. The “leaders” of unions are highly paid, arrogant nitwits.
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