Official measure | The Government suspends the driver’s licenses of people who cannot prove they are legal citizens

Federal authorities in the United States put in place a restriction on commercial driver’s licenses for those who have no way to prove their legal immigration status.

The new Trump administration legislation aims to force all states to verify immigration status before issuing or renewing these permits.

The regulation targets commercial licenses for non-domiciled drivers (non-domiciled CDL), granted to temporary non-citizen residents. These permits were designed to expire along with each driver’s immigration status.

Measure.Texas DMV confirmed it | Due to a mandatory requirement, these foreigners will not be able to register vehicles in the state

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New federal law puts thousands of driver’s licenses at risk

In February 2026, the FMCSA and the Department of Transportation (TSA) issued a directive requiring states to grant commercial licenses only to those who have a “verifiable employment-based immigration status”. The deadline to comply expired on March 16.

The measure is part of a broader immigration policy by Trump, who asked for the “Dalilah Act” to be approved and seeks to deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible. That legislation aims to prohibit any state from issuing commercial licenses to people in irregular status.

What the states decided after the suspension of licenses

• State authorities in Oregon have already suspended the issuance and renewal of CDL for any temporary non-citizen resident.
• Indiana directly canceled the 1,800 licenses already issued to non-citizens. 
• California, on the other hand, faces legal action that for now prevents revoking existing permits, which total nearly 20,000.

People affected by the restriction

• Asylum seekers with a valid work permit.
• DACA beneficiaries.
• Holders of temporary work visas.
• Temporary non-citizen residents in states with broad enforcement, such as Oregon.

What will happen now to the commercial driver’s licenses already issued?

The situation varies by state. At the federal level, the rule does not require canceling existing permits, only preventing new issuances. But each state may apply stricter criteria, as happened in Oregon and Indiana.

The debate over the constitutionality of the measure will continue in the courts in the coming weeks. California’s case could set a precedent for other states with large populations of drivers with temporary immigration status.