The U.S. Supreme Court this week rejected Florida’s complaint against states that issue nondomiciled commercial truck licenses to foreign-born drivers.
The state of Florida sought to file a lawsuit against California and Washington over the issue, arguing the high court was the right place to settle the dispute.
Instead, the justices disclosed they would not hear arguments in the case, Florida v. California and Washington, and dismissed the complaint without comment, The Washington Times reported.
Florida filed the complaint after several traffic fatalities involving illegal immigrant truckers, including a fatal crash last August in Florida that killed three people.
In its October 2025 filing, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asked the high court to consider the complaint since it involves interstate travel, as well as states violating federal regulations when issuing commercial licenses to unqualified immigrant drivers.
Florida argued that Washington and California defied federal law by issuing nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses to foreign-born drivers who don’t have legal status and cannot read or speak English, leading to preventable deaths in the Sunshine State.
SCOTUS is also the exclusive legal venue for one state to seek mediation in a conflict with another state and has “original jurisdiction.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito blasted their Supreme Court colleagues on Tuesday for “ducking a pivotal interstate dispute,” The Federalist reported.
Thomas, joined by Alito, wrote a dissenting opinion and criticized the high court for dodging its constitutional responsibility to handle disputes between the states.
Thomas said Florida deserved its chance to challenge what has become a “disturbingly common” problem of “illegal immigrants who cannot read English” yet are driving 18-wheelers.
As Thomas said in his dissent, “This Court declines to even hear Florida’s claims, even though it has nowhere else to bring them.”
Thomas highlighted the Florida fatality that sparked the complaint, involving a CDL-licensed Indian national who illegally crossed the border in 2018 and sought asylum.
The truck driver, Harjinder Singh, made an illegal U-turn across a median on the Florida Turnpike, causing a minivan to crash into the trailer and killing three people inside.
Washington state made a mistake when it first issued Singh a full-term CDL rather than what he should have gotten, a non-domiciled CDL.
Investigators with the Florida AG’s office learned Singh failed his CDL knowledge exam in Washington state 10 times between March 10, 2023, and May 5, 2023. They also learned he failed his air brakes knowledge exam twice, Fox News Digital reported.
Despite that, Singh went on to obtain a non-domiciled CDL from California in 2024. He failed an English proficiency test after the wreck, authorities said.
Thomas also noted that in his dissent, saying Singh “likely could not read the road signs” due to his inability to comprehend basic English — circumstances in which federal law bars states from issuing CDLs.
Thomas concluded his assessment that the Supreme Court “likely should have granted” Florida’s request to file its legal motion even under this “discretionary approach,” The Federalist noted.
A series of horrific traffic fatalities brought the failures of states—mostly Democratic-controlled states—issuing nondomiciled CDLs to illegals and foreigners with temporary work authorization into the national spotlight.
Under the Biden administration, the category of people grew by millions due to the expansion of Temporary Protected Status and various parole and asylum programs, which let migrants enter or remain in the country on what was meant to be a temporary basis.
In many states, drivers were able to obtain a non-domiciled CDL without being a U.S. citizen or even proving they understand English because they were issued a work permit by Biden’s Department of Homeland Security.
In its complaint, Florida called the practice “a form of sanctuary” for illegal immigrants that has real consequences for other states.
“California’s and Washington’s negligence and willful disregard of federal licensing standards pose an actionable public nuisance,” the state argued.
California refuted Florida’s allegations in the lawsuit and said it made “unfounded assumptions” about the state’s operations, plus insisted it does test for legal presence and English proficiency, The Washington Times reported.
Washington mounted a similar defense and called Florida’s lawsuit a “political stunt, not a real claim.”
California and New York, which don’t require U.S. citizenship to get a commercial license, have had federal funding revoked by the Trump administration for unlawfully issuing non-domiciled CDLs to illegal immigrants.
Earlier this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implemented a new rule severely limiting which immigrants are allowed to obtain a non-domiciled CDL. Now, only immigrants with one of three work visas (H-2A, H-2B or E-2) are eligible for it.
That’s after a nationwide FMCSA audit found several states violated federal regulations by issuing non-domiciled CDLs that lasted longer than the drivers’ work permits authorized. They also found states failed to verified their work authorization or legal status in the United States as well as other procedural errors.
