By Hank Russell
Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation after the agency announced it will withhold funding from the state because there were illegal immigrants who still held commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) after the state refused to revoke them.
Federal law dictates that any challenges to final agency decisions from DOT must be filed in a U.S. Circuit Court. On April 24, James filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, asking the court to overturn DOT’s decision and restore the funding to New York. James and Hochul also filed a motion to expedite the case to secure a decision before the funding is disrupted.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) withheld more than $73 million in funding from the state of New York after the state failed to revoke commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) that were illegally issued to non-domiciled drivers. This represents 4% of New York’s National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Program Block Grant funds.
In December 2025, the FMCSA conducted an audit of New York’s practices in issuing CDLs to those who were not living in the country legally, LILP previously reported. The agency found that more than half of the records sampled were issued in violation of federal law; the Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV’s) systems defaulted to issuing eight-year licenses to foreign drivers for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired; and New York issued commercial licenses to foreign drivers without providing any evidence that it had verified their current lawful presence in the United States.
James and Hochul state that New York issues CDLs in compliance with state and federal requirements; all drivers must have legal immigration status and meet strict testing and safety standards to qualify for a CDL. They also said that revoking these licenses would disrupt key industries that rely on commercial drivers and could lead to bus driver shortages affecting schools and families.
James argues that DOT’s action is unlawful and based on a new, unsupported interpretation of its own longstanding regulations. She also said what the agency is doing is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds the agency’s authority, and unlawfully attempts to coerce New York into canceling thousands of validly issued licenses by threatening critical funding.
“New Yorkers depend on safe, reliable roads and bridges to get to work, take their kids to school, and keep our economy moving,” James said. “The administration cannot promise funding to our state and then abruptly yank it away. By cancelling this funding, the federal government is putting jobs and communities at risk. New Yorkers are counting on these investments, and we will not let the president jeopardize our communities’ safety. My office is taking this administration to court to ensure New York gets every dollar it is owed.”
“Once again, New York is facing devastating federal cuts for nothing more than political payback,” Hochul added. “Here’s the truth: New York has always followed federal rules when issuing CDLs, something even the previous Trump Administration verified year after year. Ripping away money that goes towards critical safety upgrades on our roads is reckless and it is illegal. Standing with Attorney General James, we will fight — and win — in court to restore this funding and ensure that our roads are safe for millions of New Yorkers who rely on them.”
This issue has become a political one. Long Island Life & Politics previously reported that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman held a press conference in Pembroke earlier this year, calling for the DMV to stop issuing CDLs to applicants who lack proficiency in basic English. Blakeman — Hochul’s GOP gubernatorial opponent — said these drivers do not understand basic road signs, resulting in major fatalities.
Among the incidents Blakeman cited:
- Five people were killed and more than 40 people were hospitalized on August 22, 2025 when the driver of a tour bus, Bin Shao, lost control of the vehicle on Interstate 90 in Pembroke, New York and went into the median and on the southern shoulder before the bus overturned. Shao was later charged with five counts of manslaughter and five counts of criminally negligent homicide. It was reported that Shao required a Mandarin interpreter at his hearing. A passenger claimed they witnessed Shao trying to grab a water bottle, taking his eyes off the road. (The Hochul administration said Shao was able to speak and understand English and obtained his CDL under Republican governor George Pataki.)
- On December 9, 2025, Yisong Huang, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was driving a tour bus on Interstate 40 in Tennessee when he allegedly rear-ended a tractor-trailer, causing a chain reaction crash that killed one person and injured two others. Fox News reported that Huang was watching a video on his phone before the crash. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter.
LILP reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.
“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a statement. I’m delivering on that promise today by refusing to fund Governor Hochul’s dangerous, anti-American policies. My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: families must be prioritized on American roads.”