A U.S. federal appeals court on Nov. 10 ordered the Department of Transportation to pause enforcement of its emergency final rule restricting the ability of non-citizens to obtain a commercial driver’s license.
“The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motions for stay pending review, and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of those motions,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia wrote in its decision.
The rule announced by DOT Secretary Sean Duffy in late September only allows non-citizen drivers with H-2a, H-2b or E-2 visas to receive a CDL. It also mandated additional steps states must take when issuing these credentials. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates there are 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders.
Several weeks later, a group led by Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on behalf of truck driver Jorge Rivera Lujan, a long-time CDL holder and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. Its court filing claimed the government had failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures.
The court’s statement did not mention when it could take further action. The case is Lujan v. FMCSA.
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