FMCSA, petitioners file briefs in non-domiciled CDL case

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and other federal agencies filed their brief last week in Lujan vs. the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, setting up oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on September 15.

The case centers on FMCSA’s February rule restricting how states issue non-domiciled CDLs. The rule limits the ability of states to issue a CDL to people who are “not domiciled in the United States, who are almost entirely aliens,” according to the government’s brief.

FMCSA said screening an applicant’s driving history has “limited utility” for applicants who are aliens not domiciled in the United States because foreign driving records are not in the databases states use and states generally cannot obtain those records. The agency said the February rule “closes this gap” by blocking applicants whose driving history cannot be adequately vetted from getting a CDL.

The rule also tightened how a CDL applicant can show “lawful immigration status” by requiring an active passport or certain federal forms.

The lead petitioner is Martin Luther King County in Washington. The lead named individual is former truck driver Jorge Lujan. Several AFL-CIO unions are also petitioners, and the list of amici includes cities from Albany to Seattle to El Paso, along with the Teamsters and the Sikh Coalition.

The petitioners said FMCSA went beyond its authority. They argued the rule does not set a safety standard for what information a driver must submit, but instead restricts noncitizens’ eligibility for CDLs to those with specific visas. They also said the rule would make 97% of noncitizens who currently hold a CDL ineligible.

The rule remains in place after the plaintiffs’ request for a stay was denied.