Thirty people were killed in 17 crashes in 2025 involving what the left's dictionary calls "non-domiciled commercial drivers" who, under the Trump administration's current rule, would no longer qualify for those licenses.
The issue isn't foreign CDL drivers; plenty of lawful immigrants and foreign-born drivers safely operate commercial trucks daily. The issue is whether somebody who can't adequately read road signs, understand warnings, communicate with police, or follow instructions in English should be behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on an American highway.
When crashes expose drivers who apparently couldn't meet that basic standard, the question becomes unavoidable: Who licensed them, who failed to catch it, and why were they still on the road?
Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga put DHS's access to roughly 17 million commercial driver records on hold Friday. His administrative stay is temporary, and he hasn't ruled the subpoena unlawful.
DHS must file its opposition Monday, the states reply Wednesday, and Trenga has scheduled a hearing for Thursday.
DHS wants five years of records from the Commercial Driver's License Information System, including names, birth dates, license numbers, states of record, and Social Security numbers. The subpoena says the information would be used to investigate illegal practices at CDL schools, criminal fraud involving CDLs issued to illegal aliens, and civil immigration enforcement.
From the New York State Attorney General's press release:
New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a multistate coalition of 21 other attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania in suing to stop the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from seizing the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of 17 million commercial drivers nationwide, including nearly 500,000 New Yorkers. The administration is demanding access to a nationwide database containing the sensitive personal information of commercial driver's license (CDL) holders and has threatened to eliminate all federal funding for the system unless the records are turned over by August 17. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the federal government has no legal authority to seize states' confidential driver records and is forcing states to choose between protecting drivers' privacy and preserving the system they rely on to issue CDLs. The coalition is asking the court to immediately block the administration's unlawful data demands and preserve the funding needed to keep the system operating.
"The Trump administration is attempting to seize confidential state records without any lawful justification," said Attorney General James. "New Yorkers provide their personal information to the state with the expectation that it will be protected, not handed over to anyone who demands it."
For nearly 40 years, states have relied on the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) to ensure commercial drivers are properly licensed and qualified to operate commercial vehicles. States use CDLIS to determine whether applicants already hold a CDL in another state or have been disqualified for unsafe driving, helping keep dangerous drivers off the road. The database is owned by the states and operated by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).