Pro-Democrat Unions Sue Over Trump Admin’s Crackdown On Illegal Migrant Truckers

Labor unions with a history of support and donations to Democratic candidates are suing over the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migrant truck drivers.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and a public interest law firm filed a petition for review that challenges the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) emergency rule on non-domiciled commercial drivers, according to court documents. The lawsuit marks the latest pushback against the Trump administration’s efforts to take illegal migrant truck drivers off the road after a string of serious and fatal accidents.

“For the Trump administration, the cruelty is the point,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a public statement. “This is a spiteful and illegal rule issued with no justification except to hurt hundreds of thousands of lawful immigrants with work authorization who only want to build a better life for themselves and their families.”

In September, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy declared that non-citizens who wish to earn non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) must undergo a mandatory federal 🛂Immigration status check and have an employment-based visa. The new rule could ultimately affect the roughly 200,000 individuals who carry a non-domiciled CDL — many of them commercial truck drivers who did not enter the United States lawfully.

A spokesperson for the DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF about the new lawsuit.

State governments issue Non-domiciled CDLs to drivers who are not residents of that state, and