California announced a delay in canceling about 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses until March. This extension aims to give more time to truckers and bus drivers legally qualified to keep their licenses. The decision came a week after immigrant groups filed a lawsuit opposing the license revocations. The US Department of Transportation warned California that missing a January 5 deadline could cost the state $160 million in federal funds. Secretary Sean Duffy has already withheld $40 million, saying the state is not properly verifying that commercial drivers meet English language standards. California started sending cancellation notices only after pressure from Duffy to stop granting licenses to immigrants in the country illegally. An audit revealed that some licenses stayed valid long after the immigrant’s legal status expired, and that the state failed to properly check immigration statuses before issuing licenses. Duffy stated on X, “California does NOT have an ‘extension’ to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads.” Notably, crashes in Florida and California involving unauthorized drivers caused fatalities. Immigrant groups like the Sikh Coalition and Asian Law Caucus filed a class-action lawsuit, saying immigrant drivers are unfairly targeted. Mumeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, called the delay “an important step towards alleviating the immediate threat that these drivers are facing to their lives and livelihoods.” Immigrants represent about 20% of truck drivers, but their special non-domiciled licenses make up only 5% of California’s commercial licenses. A court has paused federal plans to tighten rules on which noncitizens can qualify for these licenses. California officials say they are working to satisfy the federal Transportation Department with reforms. Steve Gordon, director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, said, “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them.”