Washington, DC —Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom demanding answers on how his administration allowed tens of thousands of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) to be improperly issued to foreign nationals who overstayed their legal visas, in violation of federal law. The letter urges Governor Newsom to outline corrective actions, comply with federal guidelines, and ensure all illegally issued licenses are revoked.
On November 12th, 2025, the Department of Transportation announced that California had illegally issued 17,000 non-domiciled CDL and CLPs to dangerous foreign drivers. This finding came in the wake of a fatal crash claiming three lives in Florida committed by an illegal immigrant who received a California-issued CDL despite failing English and road-sign tests.
“For too long, Sacramento has warmly welcomed lawlessness, fraud, and abuse into our homes. This isn’t just a clerical error — American lives have been lost,” said Rep Young Kim. “Clearly, Gavin Newsom has been more concerned with preening himself for a presidential run than fixing failures in his own backyard. I’m holding his feet to the fire for answers on how thousands of unlawful CDL issuances slipped through his administration unchecked. Californians deserve better than this negligence.”
Read letter text HERE.
