What to know about New York’s fight over $74M in funding tied to immigrant CDLs
State sues federal government after refusing to revoke thousands of commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants, raising safety and policy questions
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by The Haitian Times
Apr. 27, 2026
New York has filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s decision to withhold $74 million in highway funding over the state’s refusal to revoke thousands of commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants. The dispute highlights tensions over immigration enforcement, road safety and federal authority, with implications for immigrant truck drivers nationwide.
New York filed a lawsuit Friday to challenge the federal Transportation Department’s decision to withhold nearly $74 million in highway money because the state refused to revoke nearly 33,000 questionable commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants since an audit uncovered problems last year.
New York joins California in suing over Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s efforts to tighten up the rules for which immigrants can qualify to get a commercial driver’s license and make sure the states are properly enforcing the existing rules.
The federal government declined to comment on the new lawsuit Friday, but officials have been clear about the problems they found with more than half of the 200 licenses they reviewed. Officials said they found significant flaws such as licenses remaining valid long after an immigrant was authorized to be in the country. New York’s computer system defaulted to issuing licenses valid for eight years regardless of how long a driver’s visa remained valid, according to the Transportation Department.
https://haitiantimes.com/2026/04/27/new-york-immigrant-cdl-lawsuit-74m-funding/
