The U.S. Department of Transportation is going after another state for improperly issuing non-domiciled CDLs.
This time, the DOT is targeting Minnesota and threatening that the state could lose $30.4 million in federal highway funding if it doesn’t come into compliance in the next 30 days.
“Our audit exposes yet another example of foreigners taking advantage of Minnesota services under Governor Walz’s watch,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news release. “Minnesota failed to follow the law and illegally doled out trucking licenses to unsafe, unqualified non-citizens – endangering American families on the road. That abuse stops now under the Trump Administration. The Department will withhold funding if Minnesota continues this reckless behavior that puts non-citizens gaming the system ahead of the safety of Americans.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety on Monday, Dec. 1. In the letter, FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said that an audit uncovered 25 instances of Minnesota issuing CDLs that failed to comply with current regulations.
“This is an unacceptable deviation from FMCSA’s regulations when issuing credentials to operate commercial motor vehicles,” Barrs wrote. “(The Minnesota Department of Public Safety) must take immediate corrective action to audit its non-domiciled CDL program, correct the deficiencies that FMCSA identified … and any deficiencies identified through the state’s internal audit, and void or rescind and reissue all non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs that failed to comply with federal regulations at the time of issuance, renewal, transfer, or upgrade.”
FMCSA said that Minnesota issued non-domiciled CDLs to:
- Drivers whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired
- Drivers who were prohibited from holding a non-domiciled CDL
- Drivers without the state first verifying the individual’s lawful presence in the U.S.
To avoid losing funding, FMCSA is directing Minnesota to pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, identify non-domiciled CDLs that don’t comply with federal regulations, revoke non-compliant CDLs and conduct a comprehensive audit.
Gov. Walz’s office didn’t immediately return Land Line’s request for comment.
Minnesota is not the first state to have its funding threatened. Other states that have been instructed to clean up their acts include California, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. LL
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