The Transportation Department’s new restrictions that would severely limit which immigrants can get commercial driver’s licenses to drive a semitrailer truck or bus have been put on hold by a federal appeals court.
The court in the District of Columbia ruled Thursday that the rules Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in September a month after a truck driver not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people can’t be enforced right now.
The court said the federal government didn’t follow proper procedure in drafting the rule and failed to “articulate a satisfactory explanation for how the rule would promote safety.” The court said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s own data shows that immigrants who hold these licenses account for roughly 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses but only about 0.2% of all fatal crashes, the court said.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
