Should DACA recipients with valid Employee Authorization Documents be allowed to obtain a Class B passenger-vehicle CDL?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public feedback to help answer that question.
Jenifer Sanchez Vilchis, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient from California, is requesting an immediate, temporary exemption allowing states to issue Class B CDLs to DACA holders.
In her exemption request, Sanchez Vilchis said that California denied her application for a Class B CDL with passenger and school bus endorsements because of FMCSA’s final rule limiting eligibility for non-domiciled CDLs.
FMCSA non-domiciled CDL final rule
On March 16, a final rule took effect aimed at cleaning up the CDL process, particularly non-domiciled CDLs. Under the rule, an Employment Authorization Document would no longer be enough to obtain a non-domiciled CDL. Additionally, asylum seekers, asylees, refugees and DACA recipients would be ineligible. FMCSA estimated that there were about 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders and that the final rule will force about 194,000 to “exit the freight market.”
Jorge Rivera Lujan, a DACA recipient who has been in the U.S. since he was 2 years old and a driver for more than a decade, filed a lawsuit against the final rule.
In May, a U.S. district court denied an emergency motion seeking to block the final rule.
FMCSA contends that the rule is critical to highway safety because thousands of drivers were issued non-domiciled CDLs without proper vetting. When a U.S. driver applies for a CDL, their driving history is reviewed. The agency contends that this is often not possible for applicants from other countries.
The petitioners argued that the safety rationale does not apply to DACA recipients, who have resided in the U.S. since childhood.
The court said that allowing DACA recipients to use Employment Authorization Documents for eligibility would present “substantial administrability and compliance problems.”
Although the motion to stay the rule was denied, the lawsuit will continue, with the petitioners’ briefs due June 15.
Exemption request
Sanchez Vilchis said that her denial was based solely on her immigration category and not because of any safety or qualification deficiencies.
Additionally, she argues that FMCSA’s final rule arose from incidents involving Class A tractor-trailer drivers engaged in freight transport. She said that Class B licensing for school buses and motor coaches is “subject to more stringent testing, supervision and background-check requirements.”
How to comment
FMCSA’s notice of the exemption request is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, June 2. Once that happens, the public will have 30 days to comment on the request. To do so, go to Regulations.gov and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0886. LL
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