The U.S. Transportation Department is threatening to withhold $75 million in federal-aid highway funding from Pennsylvania and decertify its CDL program unless the state complies with its orders regarding non-domiciled commercial drivers licenses.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in an audit of the PennDOT CDL program, it found evidence of procedural and programming errors, including:  

• Issuing non-domiciled CDLs with an expiration date that extended well beyond the driver’s authorized stay in the United States

• Failing to require any proof of lawful presence before issuing a CDL  

DOT is demanding that Pennsylvania take the following corrective measures to avoid funding being withheld: 

• Immediately pause the issuance of all new, renewed, transferred, or upgraded non-domiciled CDLs or commercial learner’s permits (CLPs).

• Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify every non-domiciled license that was issued in violation of federal regulations and the policies, practices, and procedures that allowed for the issuance of non-compliant licenses. 

• Void or rescind all unexpired, noncompliant licenses and remove unqualified drivers from the road.

Accused Terrorist with Non-Domiciled CDL: Pennsylvania Relied on Federal Database

The Department of Transportation is tying non-domiciled CDLs to cases of illegal immigrants involved in crimes or fatal crashes.

In a news release announcing the Pennsylvania crackdown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pointed to the arrest of Akhror Bozorov, an immigrant wanted in his origin country of Uzbekistan for belonging to a terrorist organization, who had a non-domiciled CDL from Pennsylvania. He illegally entered the United States in February 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security, after Uzbekistan issued an arrest warrant for Bozorov in 2022.

However, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro explained that part of the state's process for non-citizens to obtain a CDL involves checking the federal database, SAVE, to confirm legal residency in the country. As reported by WGAL, Bozorov was listed as authorized for a CDL in the federal database several months ago when he received the license.

What is a Non-Domiciled CDL and Why Are They a Problem?

A non-domiciled CDL is issued to someone who is legally allowed to work in the U.S. but doesn’t permanently live in the state issuing the license — often foreign nationals working under temporary U.S. work authorization.

These licenses came under scrutiny following a fatal crash in Florida in August when an immigrant tried to make an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer.

In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an emergency interim final rule to strengthen federal oversight of how states issue non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.

This followed a nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDLs that the agency said showed systemic non-compliance across several states.

That emergency rule created a much stricter set of rules for non-citizens to obtain a non-domiciled CDL, including having an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system (the same system Shapiro said Pennsylvania used when issuing a CDL to Bozorov.)

How is FMCSA Responding to the Court Order Staying the Non-Domiciled CDL Rule?

The DOT's emergency rule on non-domiciled CDLs has been challenged in court, and in November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily stayed the rule pending further judicial review.

In response, the FMCSA allowed states to continue to issue non-domiciled CDLs in accordance with the prior rules and guidance, according to the nonprofit Eno Center for Transportation — except for “states that are subject to a correction action plan” which includes the state of California, among others. 

"Despite this stay, FMCSA has continued to pursue corrective actions in states they consider out of compliance with their CDL regulations, and they’ve indicated does not affect the corrective action plans," Rebecca Higgins wrote for the Eno Center for Transportation.