Immigrant truckers sue California DMV over plans to cancel CDL

THE California DMV is facing a lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly 20,000 immigrant truckers over the state’s plan to revoke their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).

The Asian Law Caucus and Sikh Coalition, along with law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to stop the California DMV from rescinding CDLs, which the complaint says would “result in mass work stoppages” starting Jan. 5, 2026.

“This class action lawsuit is being brought on behalf of the Jakara Movement and five commercial drivers who have been deprived of their rights and livelihoods,” said a joint statement from the Asian Law Caucus and the Sikh Coalition. “According to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and KQED, California state officials have announced that they will begin reissuing licenses on December 17. Despite these public assurances, the state has not reissued any of the contested licenses or created a process to remedy the timing issue, with no indication that it plans to do so before January 5.”

The lawsuit alleges that on November 6, the California DMV informed 17,299 immigrant drivers and business owners that their non-domiciled CDLs would be canceled on January 5, 2026, due to an error in the license expiration date. A similar letter was sent to an additional 2,700 drivers in December, informing them that their licenses would be canceled in mid-February.

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The DMV is required to set the expiration date of a CDL issued to an immigrant either on the same day or before the driver’s work authorization or lawful presence documents expire, according to the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit alleges that the DMV’s letters violated California procedure, which would require the department to either cancel the license without prejudice or change the expiration date.

“For all 19,999 immigrants, the DMV intends to cancel their business licenses without giving them the opportunity to obtain a corrected license or contest the cancellation,” the lawsuit states.

The filing further states that “despite its own regulations, the DMV has not consistently ensured that a CDL’s expiration date corresponds to the end of a person’s period of work authorization or lawful presence.”

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In November, after heated exchanges between the federal government and California, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that the Golden State was planning to revoke 17,000 Non-domiciled CDL. The governor of California. Gavin NewsomThe office pushed back on the DOT’s assertion that its state “admitted to illegally issuing” the licenses. However, according to the lawsuit, notices were sent to more than 17,000 drivers.

The lawsuit notes that canceling CDLs has a far-reaching impact beyond the drivers themselves, saying drivers “play an indispensable role in our local and national economies, providing essential services that communities depend on every day, including transporting food, transporting children to school, and delivering manufactured goods.”

“The sudden loss of their ability to work threatens not only their livelihoods, but also the stability of our supply chains and the services the public depends on. Neither individuals nor our communities can bear the harm that will occur if these drivers lose their licenses, their careers, and their economic stability,” the lawsuit states.

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The lawsuit describes some of the plaintiffs’ experiences after receiving the November letter. In one case, a plaintiff identified as John Doe 4 allegedly received the letter despite the fact that his CDL expires on the same day as his work authorization, the very document he was supposed to have used to renew his license. The lawsuit claims that there are recipients of cancellation letters whose CDLs apparently comply.

In another instance, a member of the Jakara Movement — which describes itself as a “grassroots community-building organization working to empower, educate and organize working-class Punjabi Sikhs and other marginalized communities” — attempted to address her concerns about the cancellation by visiting a DMV office in person. The lawsuit claims that when the Jakara member arrived at the DMV office, he was “forced to surrender his CDL, lest his non-commercial driver’s license already be revoked.”

Additionally, the lawsuit claims, “the DMV has not explained how it identified 19,999 licenses as noncompliant with state law and how it can ensure its determinations are accurate.”

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The lawsuit asks the judge to issue a writ of mandate, preliminary injunction or permanent injunction that would require the California DMV to ensure that the plaintiffs and those covered in the class action are able to obtain a corrected CDL “without interruption of their driving privileges.”

THE Trump administration has launched a crackdown on the CDL issuance process as part of its efforts to combat illegal immigration. This decision comes after a series of fatal accidents involving non-domiciled CDL holders.

The California DMV and Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.