Fact check: How many commercial driver’s licenses did California issue to undocumented immigrants after AB 60 passed in 2015?

1. Why the 60,000 number keeps appearing — a first-ever accounting that changed the debate

Independent reporting compiled a new dataset described as the “first-ever real data” on non-domiciled CDLs and concluded there are at least 60,000 active non-domiciled CDLs, showing growth over the past decade and clustering in several states; that reporting is the direct source for federal officials’ public claims ^[2]. The reporting differentiates between “non-domiciled” CDLs — licenses held by people whose primary residence is outside the issuing state — and undocumented status, and it notes the counts are rough but represent a minimum baseline. Federal statements by the U.S. Transportation Secretary referenced tens of thousands and tied the figure to safety and funding decisions, relying on that reporting and subsequent federal review rather than a California-issued tally ^{[5] [6]}. The key takeaway is that the 60,000 figure is rooted in independent aggregation of state data, not a single-state ledger showing post‑AB 60 undocumented issuances. ^{[2] [5]}

2. What California officially says — no state-level tally, compliance claim, and cooperation

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles acknowledges it accepts certain federal documents as proof of lawful presence and has implemented AB 60 for driver licenses; the DMV says it complies with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules and is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Transportation audit but does not keep records specifically totaling non-domiciled CDLs or segregating undocumented applicants ^[4]. That absence of a state-maintained count means there is no direct official California figure that isolates CDLs issued to undocumented immigrants after 2015. California’s position frames the issue as one of documentation practices and interagency review rather than a single-number admission. The state’s cooperation with the audit indicates federal authorities are seeking to reconcile independent counts with state records and regulatory standards ^[4].

3. Federal enforcement and funding pressure — how numbers became leverage

Federal regulators froze $40.7 million and threatened up to $160 million in transportation funds, citing evidence they characterize as showing more than 60,000 non-domiciled CDLs and asserting that tens of thousands of non-domiciled or noncitizen commercial licenses pose safety and legal concerns; the U.S. Transportation Secretary explicitly said California issued tens of thousands of CDLs to noncitizens ^{[6] [5]}. The federal rationale links the independent data set and audit findings to compliance with FMCSA residency rules for CDL issuance; federal actions use aggregated numbers as leverage to compel states to change verification procedures. This shows how an imprecise but large aggregate count can drive policy and funding consequences even without a precise per-state undocumented-issuance tally. ^{[6] [5]}

4. What the independent dataset does — reveals patterns but not definitive legal status

The Overdrive-style reporting assembled a cross-state accounting that produced a rough count of non-domiciled CDLs and documented a rise over ten years, emphasizing that the dataset reveals patterns and minimum totals rather than exact legal statuses or motivations of license holders ^[2]. The distinction matters: “non-domiciled” is not synonymous with “undocumented”; many holders may be legal temporary workers, visa holders, or otherwise authorized to work in the U.S. The dataset’s strength is in exposing a scale and growth of non-domiciled CDLs and highlighting states’ varying recordkeeping. The reporting filled a transparency gap and created the numerical basis for federal scrutiny, while also leaving open crucial questions about individual legal status and state issuance practices. ^[2]

5. Bottom line and outstanding data gaps — what remains unknown and why it matters

Despite repeated public claims that California issued “tens of thousands” of CDLs to noncitizens, there is no published California figure isolating CDLs issued to undocumented immigrants after AB 60, because the state does not track non-domiciled CDL volumes in a way that distinguishes undocumented status; independent reporting and federal statements converge on at least 60,000 non-domiciled CDLs nationwide and implicate California as a major locus, but they stop short of a precise post‑2015 undocumented count for the state ^{[4] [2] [6]}. The unresolved gaps—differences between “non-domiciled” and “undocumented,” lack of a state tally, and ongoing federal audits—mean policy responses are being driven by aggregate findings and federal enforcement priorities rather than a single, verifiable California-only number. Closing those gaps requires transparent, auditable state data and clarified federal definitions. ^{[2] [4]}