In October, Jashanpreet Singh, an illegal alien from India, caused a deadly multi-vehicle pileup in Southern California, killing three innocent people and injuring four others when his big rig slammed into traffic. A group of non-U.S. citizen and temporary resident truck drivers has launched a class-action lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and its director, Steve Gordon, accusing the agency of unlawfully planning to revoke nearly 20,000 commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) due to administrative blunders.

The suit, filed on December 23 in Alameda County Superior Court, claims the DMV’s actions stem from federal pressure under the Trump administration and violate state law by denying drivers the chance to correct errors or reapply.

The controversy erupted after a federal audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revealed that California had improperly issued thousands of non-domiciled CDLs, licenses for non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents with temporary work authorization, by setting expiration dates that exceeded drivers’ legal presence documents.

To be clear, these drivers happily operated under questionable credentials that prioritized diversity over safety and compliance until they were caught.

In response, the DMV sent cancellation notices in November and December to about 17,299 drivers (effective January 5, 2026) and another 2,700 (effective mid-February), citing mismatches in paperwork.

Many believe the audit was done thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) withholding over $40 million in federal funds and cracking down on states for lax enforcement of CDL rules, including English proficiency standards.

The plaintiffs, including five anonymous immigrant drivers and the Jakara Movement, a group representing Punjabi Sikh communities, allege the DMV’s cancellations are “arbitrary and capricious,” punishing workers for the agency’s own mistakes without due process.

Many affected drivers are Sikh immigrants who now make up a large population of the state’s trucking industry, transporting freight, operating school buses, and handling essential services.

“The DMV’s actions will result in the loss of their hard-earned careers and impose severe financial and emotional hardships on the drivers and their families,” the lawsuit claims.

It further states that under California Vehicle Code § 13100, cancellations must be “without prejudice,” allowing immediate reapplication, but the DMV has halted all processing of non-domiciled CDLs, telling applicants it has “no guidance” to assist them.

The suit claims this violates due process under the California Constitution, as drivers are deprived of property and liberty interests “without notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.”

“The state of California must help these 20,000 drivers because, at the end of the day, the clerical errors threatening their livelihoods are of the CA-DMV’s own making,” said Munmeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition, in a statement. “If the court does not issue a stay, we will see a devastating wave of unemployment that harms individual families, as well as the destabilization of supply chains on which we all rely.”

Heartstrings aside, where’s the accountability for these drivers who should have ensured their paperwork was ironclad before hauling freight or American children?

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office previously pushed back against DOT claims that the state “admitted to illegally issuing” licenses, insisting California followed existing rules before a recent FMCSA rule change.

The suit seeks to certify the class, halt cancellations, compel the DMV to allow reapplications, and declare the actions unlawful.

In October, Jashanpreet Singh, an illegal alien from India, caused a deadly multi-vehicle pileup in Southern California, killing three innocent people and injuring four others when his big rig slammed into traffic.

Singh entered the U.S. from India in 2023 and was released under Biden-era catch-and-release practices. He now faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of reckless driving.

“This is a heinous tragedy that took three lives and severely injured others. Frankly, it was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired. Had the rule of law been followed by State and Federal officials the defendant should have never been in California at all”, said San Bernardino County District Attorney, Jason Anderson.

ICE has lodged an arrest detainer against the criminal alien.