Indian truckers sue California govt over licence cancellations: Key details

The lawsuit challenges the cancellation of over 20,000 commercial driving licences issued to immigrant truck drivers in California, alleging discrimination and a lack of due process

Indian-origin truck drivers have filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA-DMV) after thousands of commercial driving licences were abruptly cancelled, leaving many drivers out of work.

 

The case, filed earlier this week by the Sikh Coalition along with the Asian Law Caucus and law firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP, challenges the cancellation of more than 20,000 commercial driver’s licences (CDLs) issued to immigrant drivers in California.

Why are Indian drivers suing the California DMV?

According to the Sikh Coalition, the case is a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of five affected drivers and the Jakara Movement. The petition argues that drivers were stripped of their jobs and livelihoods without being given a fair opportunity to correct minor administrative issues linked to their licences.

 

 

The coalition said the cancellations have had an immediate and severe impact on families that depend on trucking as their primary source of income.

What triggered the mass licence cancellations?

The California DMV began issuing 60-day cancellation notices to nearly 17,000 drivers on November 6. That number has since risen to more than 20,000. The action followed a federal audit which flagged licences that were set to expire after the period for which drivers were legally permitted to remain in the United States.

 

State authorities said the cancellations were required to comply with federal immigration regulations.

Were the licence issues serious or procedural?

The Sikh Coalition said many of the affected licences were cancelled due to minor paperwork discrepancies, such as mismatched expiry dates between work authorisation documents and commercial driving licences.

 

Under California law, the DMV is required either to correct such errors or allow drivers to reapply for amended licences. However, the lawsuit alleges that the DMV failed to provide a clear process for rectification, resulting in sudden and widespread removals from the workforce.

Is this linked to a broader immigration crackdown?

The lawsuit comes amid a wider tightening of immigration enforcement in the United States. The Sikh Coalition alleged that immigrant drivers are being disproportionately targeted and penalised because of their immigration status.

 

“By ejecting these drivers from the workforce without allowing for any sort of solution, the CA-DMV is discriminating against them on the basis of their immigration status,” the group said in a statement.

 

Munmeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, warned that without court intervention, thousands of families could lose their livelihoods and disruptions could ripple through critical supply chains.

Why are Indian-origin truckers facing greater scrutiny?

Indian-origin truck drivers, particularly Sikhs, have come under increased scrutiny following a series of fatal road accidents involving commercial trucks in recent months.

 

In one case, a 21-year-old Indian national, Jashanpreet Singh, was arrested in Ontario, California, after his semi-truck hit an SUV, triggering a chain-reaction crash that killed three people and injured four others. Authorities said Singh had allegedly entered the US illegally in 2022 and was living in Yuba City.

 

This followed another deadly accident in Florida, where Harjinder Singh was charged with vehicular homicide after his truck struck a minivan during what police described as an illegal U-turn, killing three people. The US Department of Homeland Security said Singh had entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018 and later obtained a commercial driver’s licence in California.

How important are Indian drivers to the US trucking sector?

Despite the scrutiny, Sikh and Indian-origin truck drivers form a significant part of the US logistics workforce, particularly on the West Coast. Many entered trucking after seeking asylum in the country.

 

According to the Los Angeles Times, there are around 750,000 Sikhs living in the United States, with nearly 150,000 employed in the trucking industry, concentrated largely in California and neighbouring states.