California loses $160M for delaying revocation of 17,000 commercial driver's licenses for immigrants [View all]

Source: NBC News/AP

Jan. 7, 2026, 8:34 PM EST


California will lose $160 million for delaying the revocations of 17,000 commercial driver's licenses for immigrants, federal transportation officials announced Wednesday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy already withheld $40 million in federal funding because he said California isn't enforcing English proficiency requirements for truckers.

The state notified these drivers in the fall that they would lose their licenses after a federal audit found problems that included licenses for truckers and bus drivers that remained valid long after an immigrant's visa expired. Some licenses were also given to citizens of Mexico and Canada who don't qualify. More than one-quarter of the small sample of California licenses that investigators reviewed were unlawful.

But then last week California said it would delay those revocations until March after immigrant groups sued the state because of concerns that some groups were being unfairly targeted. Duffy said the state was supposed to revoke those licenses by Monday.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/california-loses-160m-delaying-revocation-drivers-licenses-immigrants-rcna252911