Ohio revokes CDLs for 1,200 foreign truck drivers after warning 5,000

Ohio announced it is revoking the commercial driver’s licenses of roughly 1,200 foreign truck drivers after warning 5,000 people that they could lose their CDLs.

The recent decision came after federal officials found in an audit that certain licenses no longer meet updated requirements, according to USA Today.

Ohio officials said the drivers who will lose their CDLs have already been notified by the state government, the news source wrote.

“Approximately 1,200 individuals were sent notice of downgrade letters as part of the initial review batch,” Ohio BMV spokesman Bret Crow told Transport Topics.

The news came after state and federal officials announced they would look into non-domiciled CDLs, a type of U.S. commercial driver’s license issued to a person who is legally allowed to work in the U.S. but is not a permanent resident.

According to USA Today, the Department of Transportation is also urging states across the country to require everyone, including immigrants from non-English-speaking countries, to pass the commercial driver’s license test in English to demonstrate they know the language.

Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles also said in its May 29 press release that it is reviewing approximately 5,000 non-domiciled CDL holders, citing potential fraud. Ohio’s BMV said that some drivers could keep their CDLs until they expire, while others would lose their CDLs immediately.

“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy previously said in a release. “Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers – often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it. Today’s actions will prevent unsafe foreign drivers from renewing their license and hold states accountable to immediately invalidate improperly issued licenses.”

Crow told Transport Topics that the review is not yet finished, and “at this time, the BMV has not finalized this full downgrade list.”

In its May 29 press release, the Ohio BMV wrote that the Buckeye State has approximately 406,000 CDL holders, adding that most of them won’t be affected by the recent actions from the federal and state officials because most people affected by the recent changes in the system got their CDLs revoked because they don’t have the documents anymore that meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requirements.

According to USA Today, those requirements now largely limit eligibility to certain visa types, such as H‑2A, H‑2B, and E-2. Immigrants who didn’t have valid work authorization when their CDLs were issued also had their CDLs revoked.

A driver affected by the recent changes could appeal the decision, which could result in them still being able to drive commercial vehicles and their licenses not being downgraded after 30 days, USA Today reported.

While appealing the decision, drivers submit additional documents to prove that they can drive a commercial vehicle, Land Line Media reported.