California will revoke 17,000 driver’s licenses issued to immigrants after officials said they extended beyond the day drivers are allowed to work in the country – a violation of state law.
California requires driver’s licenses and work permits to have the same expiration dates, officials said. Notices were sent on Nov. 6 of the affected drivers to warn their licenses will expire in 60 days.
The move comes amid an ongoing standoff between the Trump Administration and GOV It follows a nationwide audit after officials said a truck driver who was living in the US illegally made an illegal right-of-way and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. My team will continue to push for California to prove that it removes every illegal person from the wheel of water trucks and school buses,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a written statement.
However, government officials say the drivers were not “illegal immigrants” and that they were authorized to work in the country by the austerity regime.
“Fuffer from ‘Sean’s Street’ failed miserably to tell a lie in a sad and desperate attempt to please his beloved leader,” said Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for the story.
California is one of 19 states, in addition to Washington, DC, that issue driver’s licenses to immigrants without legal status. Doing this allows people to work and travel safely, without providing for the rights of migrants.
But California — along with six other states, including Texas — came under scrutiny after an audit by the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety, the agency responsible for preventing traffic-related deaths and injuries.
That audit finds irregularities in the issuance of unregistered driver’s licenses.
Duffy said the audit found 25% of licenses issued in California violated federal laws, including extending well beyond the expiration date of a person’s license.
In October, following an audit, Duffy withheld more than $40 million in travel grants and a California decree not only issued driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, but also did not enforce new English language requirements for truck drivers.
Authorities have disputed Duffy’s claims and say the state has violated federal rules and regulations. The California Department of Motor Vehicles said on its website that it was not issuing or renewing driver’s licenses that have been illegally retained since September 29.
Proposed new rules that would include more immigration checks, shorten the license period and reduce eligibility for certain immigrant visas, were temporarily set aside by a federal appeals court this week.
This decision provided relief to thousands of immigrants who were at risk of losing their license.
