The Department of Transportation warned Colorado that the state could lose $24 million in federal highway funding if it continues to drag its feet on addressing illegally issued commercial driver’s licenses, according to a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.
‘Colorado has two options: Revoke the licenses immediately, or I will pull federal funding.’
In September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared the results of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit, which found “systemic noncompliance” among state driver licensing agencies in several states, including Colorado.
The audit revealed that 22% of Colorado’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally. Most of those licenses were reportedly issued to Mexican nationals. Drivers who are citizens of Mexico or Canada are ineligible to obtain non-domiciled CDLs and must instead acquire licenses from their home countries.
Some of the CDLs issued to immigrants by Colorado reportedly had expiration dates that exceeded the drivers’ lawful presence in the U.S.
The DOT demanded that the state immediately pull the illegal licenses to come into compliance with federal laws.
A Monday press release from the department claimed that Colorado had “admitted that these violations were not accidental, but the result of a 2016 statewide policy decision to disregard federal law and give trucking licenses to ineligible Mexican citizens.”
Blaze News reached out to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, and the governor’s office for comment. The Colorado DOT directed Blaze News to contact the state’s Department of Revenue, which oversees the Division of Motor Vehicles.
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Sean Duffy. Photographer: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The DOT asserted that the state has been “slow-walking a purge of illegally issued truck licenses,” cautioning that Colorado could lose $24 million in federal highway funds. The DOT also warned that it could decertify Colorado’s CDL program.
According to the department, Colorado has not produced a complete audit or accounting of the illegal licenses.
“This continued delay signals a lack of urgency that puts public safety at risk,” the press release read.
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Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images
“Colorado doesn’t get to pick and choose what federal rules it follows — especially when the driving public is at risk,” Secretary Duffy stated. “It’s been nearly two months since Colorado admitted that they knowingly broke the law and gave Mexican nationals trucking licenses. Colorado has two options: Revoke the licenses immediately, or I will pull federal funding. Every day that goes by is another day unqualified, unvetted foreign truckers are jeopardizing the safety of you and your family.”
Colorado received notice of its noncompliance in September, the same time the DOT also issued a similar notice to Texas. On September 29, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced that it had complied with the DOT’s request and immediately suspended the issuance of certain CDLs.
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