Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pointed to a nationwide audit conducted in October that found about 22% of the commercial licenses doled out by Colorado to immigrants were done so illegally, many to Mexican nationals — a practice that's prohibited under federal law.
Duffy accused Colorado of “slow walking” the required purge of these licenses. He said the state has failed to complete a full audit, provide a complete accounting of affected drivers, or revoke the invalid credentials despite being notified of non-compliance.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called it a case of “crossed-wires,” saying that if Duffy had reached out, he would know that the state has “finished the investigation and we are conducting a final review of the findings, with letters likely going out this week to CDL holders whose credentials were improperly issued.”
He said in a statement that the state is working quickly to revoke these licenses.
In addition to Duffy's ultimatum, he also noted that the Transportation Department has the authority to decertify Colorado's entire CDL program if the state doesn't act swiftly.
“Every day that goes by is another day unqualified, unvetted foreign truckers are jeopardizing the safety of you and your family,” Duffy said in a statement.
Colorado’s Division of Motor Vehicles has paused the issuance and renewal of term-limited non-domiciled CDLs and commercial learner’s permits indefinitely, The Denver Post reported last week. That pause is expected to remain in place pending an audit of all such licenses to ensure compliance with federal regulations.
Duffy has threatened federal highway funding for other states, too, in his effort to make sure truck drivers and bus drivers are qualified to either haul passengers or 80,000 pounds of cargo down the highway.
