California to lose $160M in federal money for delayed cancellation of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses
FRESNO, Calif. — The Federal Government announced Wednesday it was withholding $160 million in funding from California for delaying the cancellation of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses held by immigrants.
The freeze comes after a 2025 audit found issues with valid licenses. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave the state until Monday to revoke them.
Just before the New Year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced it would extend the anticipated cancellation date of thousands of commercial driver’s licenses for non-citizens by 60 days.
The update is set to impact thousands of truck drivers in the state.
“A majority of it would be Sikhs and Hispanics in California,” said Everett Yockey of Advanced Career Institute of Fresno.
Yockey is the CFO and Director of Operations for the Advanced Career Institute of Fresno, a private business and trade school that trains about 1,200 to 1,400 students a year through its CDL training program.
According to the December 30 announcement, the state would work with representatives of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to resolve concerns about the DMV’s CDL licensing process before March 6, 2026.
Yockey says ACI recently underwent an FMCSA audit, with similar inspections likely to occur over the next 60 days to identify improper training sites and practices.
“We were told some schools closed down because of it,” said Yockey.
Last fall, the Trump Administration announced new guidelines tightening restrictions on commercial truck drivers nationwide.
“The process for issuing these licenses is absolutely 100% broken,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Non-citizens would need an employment-based visa and undergo a mandatory federal immigration status check.
In September, Secretary Duffy set a 30-day deadline for the California DMV to comply, or risk losing federal highway funds.
Yockey said thousands of truck drivers were suddenly facing the possibility of having their driver’s licenses revoked.
“Even though they had the right to work in the United States, they didn’t have a right to hold a CDL,” said Yockey.
Yockey said last fall’s crackdown was the federal government’s way of stepping in following deadly crashes, including one last August in Florida, when a truck driver from India made an illegal U-turn, killing three and sparking a national debate on immigration, licensing, and commercial driving safety.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles’ Director Steve Gordon said, “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy, our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them.”
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