Overview
- Attorney General Letitia James filed the suit Friday in the Second Circuit after the U.S. Department of Transportation moved to withhold about $73 million unless New York revoked roughly 33,000 commercial licenses held by noncitizens with temporary work authorization.
- Federal officials cite an FMCSA audit that reviewed 200 New York files and found 107 appeared improper, including licenses that stayed valid after a driver’s legal status had lapsed.
- State leaders say they rechecked the flagged cases and found the drivers were authorized when licensed, and the lawsuit calls the funding cut arbitrary, unlawful, and rooted in a wrong reading of the rules.
- The dispute follows a February federal rule that limits new noncitizen CDLs to H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visa holders and reinforces English requirements, a shift praised by trucking groups and challenged by immigrant advocates.
- California already lost about $200 million over similar issues, and New York warns losing or delaying this money could slow road and bridge work that the state says protects drivers and pedestrians.