Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's state government had to comply with the demands of the U.S. president in order to meet federal standards
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California announced the revocation of 17,000 commercial driver's licenses (CDL) after weeks of direct pressure from the administration of Donald Trump, which had demanded that the state correct a serious violation of federal road safety standards.
The measure comes after a series of warnings from the Department of Transportation (DOT), which accused the government of Gavin Newsom of having allowed the issuance of licenses without meeting essential federal requirements.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy publicly welcomed the decision and stated that Trump's administration had managed to expose a problem that California was denying.
"After weeks of claiming they had done nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we've exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued licenses are being revoked. This is just the tip of the iceberg," Duffy declared, who reiterated that the federal administration will continue to require the state to ensure that no driver without the proper legal and safety standards is behind the wheel of high-risk vehicles such as trucks or school buses.
El secretario de Transporte estadounidense aclaró que se revocarán 17.000 licencias
According to the DOT, the affected drivers have already been notified that their licenses will no longer be valid in 60 days because they do not meet the updated federal requirements.
From Washington, the measure is considered an important step to strengthen controls and close legal loopholes that California had tolerated for years.
The Democratic state government, however, reacted harshly. Through a message on X, Governor Gavin Newsom's office accused the DOT of lying and defended that the drivers had federal work authorization when they received the licenses. It also denied having admitted the illegal issuance of CDLs and maintained that the revocations are only due to internal regulatory adjustments.
El demócrata Gavin Newsom intentó desligarse de la situación
Nevertheless, from the Trump administration those arguments were refuted and California's explanation was described as an attempt to divert responsibility. Duffy insisted that federal intervention was necessary and recalled that his "emergency rule" was issued precisely because of the level of noncompliance detected. "It was that serious," he emphasized.
Federal pressure intensified after recent cases that raised safety alarms, such as Harjinder Singh, who entered the country illegally in 2018 and faces three counts of vehicular homicide after a fatal accident in Florida.
Singh, who held a commercial license issued by California, did not pass basic English or traffic sign tests. The DOT revealed that he correctly identified only 1 out of 4 signs and answered only 2 out of 12 verbal questions correctly.
Another case highlighted by federal authorities is Jashanpreet Singh, also an illegal immigrant, accused of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol. He had been detained by the Border Patrol in 2022 but was released pending an immigration hearing before obtaining the CDL in California.
Una larga lista de inmigrantes ilegales han cometido delitos con sus licencias falsas
