Immigrant truck drivers are suing the California Department of Motor Vehicles for stripping the driver's licenses of thousands of commercial vehicle drivers, arguing the decision violates their rights and threatens their livelihoods.
On November 6, the California DMV issued 17,000 drivers a 60-day notice of revocation after a federal audit found that licenses issued to immigrant drivers expired after they were legally allowed to remain in the United States.
The lawsuit alleges that in the event of such technical errors on the part of the DMV, California law requires the DMV to change the license expiration date at will or allow applicants to reapply for a corrected license.
“The State of California must help these 20,000 drivers because, at the end of the day, the technical errors that threaten their livelihoods are the work of the CA-DMV,” said Manmeet Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, a group that fights for Sikh civil rights.
The Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Group filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of five commercial driver's license holders challenging the DMV's decision to revoke the licenses.
The number of cancellation notices has increased since November. grew up to more than 20,000.
“Unless the court stays the decision, we will see a devastating wave of unemployment that will harm individual families, as well as destabilize the supply chains we all rely on,” Kaur said.
The Sikh Coalition also noted that the measure was taken under pressure from the federal government. It said the California DMV did not provide an opportunity to seek assistance and informed applicants that it does not issue or renew commercial driver's licenses to non-residents.
Punjabi Sikh truckers have become a pillar of the American trucking industry. Over the years, many have sought asylum in the United States and worked in the transportation industry.
There are approximately 750,000 Punjabi Sikhs living in the United States. Of those, about 150,000 work in the trucking industry, most of whom live on the West Coast.
The issue of immigrant truckers became a political flashpoint earlier this year when a Punjabi Sikh driver made an illegal U-turn on a highway, leading to a crash in Florida that killed three people. The Trump administration took action and found seven states including California, Washington and Texas, which have lenient licensing rules.
The crackdown has unleashed a wave of racism and racial profiling of Sikh drivers, many of whom wear turbans and beards as symbols of their faith, which is neither Hindu nor Muslim.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy singled out California for issuing commercial driver's licenses to unqualified immigrant truckers who put lives at risk on the road. Many truckers have left the industry following the introduction of expanded English proficiency tests, in which traffic inspectors test language skills and knowledge of road signs.
Changes in policies regarding commercial licenses for noncitizens and English proficiency controls could remove more than 400,000 commercial drivers from the market over the next three years, according to JB Hunt, one of the largest trucking companies.
