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Fact check: Have any states issued CDLs to undocumented immigrants and faced legal challenges (which states and when)?
Executive Summary
Florida has recently brought a high-profile legal challenge to California and Washington, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop those states from issuing commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to people the state of Florida characterizes as undocumented, following a deadly truck crash in August 2025; Florida frames the issue as a federal preemption and public-safety matter [1] [2] [3]. Separately, advocacy groups and unions have sued to block a federal rule that would strip CDLs from non‑domiciled immigrants, saying the rule unlawfully targets refugees, asylees and DACA recipients; that fight raises conflicting federal-state tensions and competing safety vs. immigration‑enforcement arguments [4] [5]. The reporting shows two distinct battlegrounds: state-vs-state litigation sparked by Florida’s suit and federal-rule challenges by civil-society plaintiffs. [1] [4]
1. Why Florida’s suit thrust CDLs into the national spotlight — and what it alleges
Florida filed a lawsuit in October 2025 directly against California and Washington, urging the Supreme Court to halt those states from issuing CDLs to people it calls undocumented after a fatal crash on a Florida highway involving a driver licensed by those states; Florida alleges the states violated federal statutory and regulatory requirements for CDL issuance and that the issuances pose a public safety risk [1] [2] [3]. Florida’s filings frame the dispute as one of federal law supremacy: the claim is that federal rules set uniform safety and immigration-related eligibility standards for CDLs and that state policies undermining those rules create unsafe interstate conditions. The litigation strategy seeks immediate, nationwide relief at the Supreme Court level and signals a willingness to convert a tragic crash into a constitutional and statutory test case over state licensing schemes [2] [1].
2. What California and Washington have been doing — issuing CDLs to non‑domiciled applicants
Reporting notes that California and Washington have issued CDLs to non‑domiciled drivers, including at least one driver who entered the U.S. illegally, according to accounts tied to the Florida litigation and related stories; those states’ practices reflect prior policies to provide driving credentials to residents regardless of immigration status in some contexts, and specifically to allow non‑domiciled applicants to obtain commercial credentials under state rules [6] [7]. Advocates for those state policies argue that licensing drivers improves safety by ensuring training and testing, while critics contend state issuance of CDLs to individuals without lawful status contradicts federal requirements and could jeopardize interstate transportation safety. The tension is between state public‑safety rationales and federal uniformity claims that Florida presses in court [6] [7].
3. A parallel fight at the federal level: the Trump administration rule and civil‑society lawsuits
In a separate track, a federal rule announced by the Trump administration seeks to bar asylum seekers, refugees, DACA recipients and other non‑domiciled immigrant groups from obtaining CDLs; that rule has been met by litigation from Public Citizen Litigation Group, AFSCME, AFT and other plaintiffs who assert the rule is punitive and unlawful and would remove licensed drivers from the supply of truckers and bus operators [4] [5]. The plaintiffs frame their claims around statutory limits and administrative‑law principles and emphasize workforce and humanitarian harms, while the administration frames the rule as enforcement of immigration‑related eligibility tied to national safety. This federal challenge creates overlapping legal fights: state policy disputes and rulemaking lawsuits both shape who can legally operate heavy vehicles [4] [5].
4. Contrasting dates, sources and possible motives behind the litigation push
The key news items are clustered in October 2025: Florida’s Supreme Court filing and related press in mid‑ to late‑October (notably Oct. 16–22, 2025) and civil‑society lawsuits and reporting on the federal rule in mid‑ to late‑October as well [3] [1] [2] [4]. The timing suggests reactive litigation after the August crash mentioned by Florida and contemporaneous administrative action by the federal government; political motives are visible, as Florida’s attorney general leads a state‑versus‑state challenge emphasizing safety and federal law compliance, while the federal rule reflects a broader administration policy on immigration and transportation. Civil‑society plaintiffs press counterclaims stressing workforce and civil‑rights impacts, exposing clear policy and political agendas on both sides of the disputes [2] [4].
5. What this means for drivers, states and the courts going forward
The competing cases create concrete uncertainty for non‑domiciled and immigrant drivers, state licensing authorities and employers in transportation; immediate outcomes hinge on whether the Supreme Court accepts Florida’s direct suit and whether courts enjoin the federal rule challenged by advocacy groups [1] [4]. If Florida wins at the Supreme Court, California and Washington could be restrained from issuing certain CDLs nationwide; if civil‑society plaintiffs prevail against the federal rule, non‑domiciled drivers could retain access to commercial credentials. Both pathways underscore a larger legal fault line over federal supremacy, administrative authority and state prerogatives on public safety and immigration policy [2] [5].