Illinois stands to lose $128M in federal funding if these illegal foreign licenses are not immediately revoked
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today exposed that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s review of Illinois’ non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) program found nearly 1-in-5 licenses to have been issued illegally. Illinois has 30 days to come into compliance and revoke the illegally issued licenses-or risk losing $128 million in federal highway funding.
“I need our state partners to understand that they work for the American people, not illegal immigrants who broke the law illegally entering our country and continue to break it by operating massive big rigs without the proper qualifications,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Biden and Buttigieg forced Americans to share their roads with unqualified and unvetted foreign drivers, but the Trump Administration is putting the needs of American families first where they belong.”
In a letter sent today to Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Director of Driver Services Kevin Duesterhaus, FMCSA outlined the audit’s findings of how the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to:
- Drivers whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired.
- Drivers without Illinois first verifying the individual’s lawful presence in the U.S.
USDOT is now demanding that Illinois take the following corrective measures to avoid funding being withheld:
- Immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
- Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations.
- Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
- Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices, and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet Federal rules.
“The last administration looked the other way as states blatantly defied federal laws when unlawfully issuing licenses to foreign drivers. Secretary Duffy and I will be relentless in our agenda to reinstate commonsense safety standards that protect our truckers and American families,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs.
Additional Information:
President Trump’s Executive Order on truck driver roadway safety shined a light on the widespread negligence of states that were illegally issuing non-domiciled CDLs. In response, USDOT swiftly launched a nationwide non-domiciled CDL audit, which has uncovered glaring compliance failures in several states, including California, New York, and Pennsylvania.
In June, Secretary Duffy announced a nationwide audit of states issuing non-domiciled CDLs and unveiled a pro-trucker package that includes millions to expand truck parking, the removal of one-size-fits-all mandates, the modernization of driver resources, and the slashing of red tape.
In addition to these enforcement actions, Secretary Duffy signed an order announcing new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. Under the new guidance, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who fail to comply with FMCSA longstanding English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements will be placed out-of-service.
This focus on language proficiency aligns with President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order designating English as the official language of the United States.