NY Loses Nearly $74 Million for Not Revoking Commercial Driver’s Licenses Unlawfully Issued to Foreigners

A federal audit showed more than half of the trucking licenses issued to foreigners in the state were granted illegally.

Commercial trucks pass through the Peace Bridge port of entry in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 23, 2023. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

The U.S. Department of Transportation will withhold $73.5 million in federal funding from New York for failing to revoke illegally issued commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses to foreign nationals, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced April 16.

“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers,” Duffy said in a statement. “My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: families must be prioritized on American roads.”