Judge Halts DHS Review of Migrant Trucker Licenses
A federal judge blocked DHS from accessing a database of 17 million truck drivers to identify illegal migrants with commercial licenses after 21 states sued.
U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga delivered the order preventing DHS from reviewing state driver records held by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, according to Breitbart News. The judge, appointed by President George W. Bush, further instructed the department to return any records already obtained and to cease all inspections of the database.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 21 Democrat-controlled states challenging the federal government’s authority to access the information without obtaining individual subpoenas for each separate record, as reported by Freight Waves.
The Department of Homeland Security had sought the comprehensive database access to enforce road safety standards and to identify illegal aliens who have been granted commercial driver’s licenses by blue states. Federal officials intended to revoke those licenses and remove what they described as dangerous drivers from American highways.
Judge Trenga’s administrative stay effectively bars the Trump administration from proceeding with this enforcement action for the time being.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has vowed not to retreat from the safety initiative despite the legal setback. Writing on X, Duffy stated that liberal states are prioritizing illegal immigrant truckers over American citizens by filing lawsuits to prevent federal safety enforcement.
We won’t compromise on road safety, Duffy declared, emphasizing that his department would continue pursuing measures to ensure highway security.
The legal battle highlights a deepening conflict between the federal government and Democratic-led states over immigration enforcement and public safety standards in the commercial trucking sector.
With information from Breitbart News
