Overview
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned PennDOT it will lose $75 million unless it pauses issuing, renewing, transferring, or upgrading nondomiciled CDLs and commercial learner’s permits, audits its program, and rescinds noncompliant licenses.
- FMCSA reviewers said Pennsylvania issued licenses with expiration dates that exceeded authorized stays and failed to document applicants’ lawful presence, alleging illegal issuance to ineligible noncitizens.
- Duffy’s letter cited the ICE arrest of Akhror Bozorov, an Uzbek national with suspected terrorist ties who obtained a Pennsylvania CDL, as an example underscoring federal safety concerns.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania officials dispute the characterization, saying the state verifies status through DHS’s SAVE system, state law bars licenses for undocumented immigrants, and any gaps reflect federal database issues.
- Pennsylvania says it stopped issuing CDLs to noncitizens in September following new federal guidance, which a federal appeals court temporarily paused this week as broader DOT scrutiny extends to other states including California.