U.S. Department of Transportation Reveals That 54% of North Carolina Non-Domiciled Commercial Driver Licenses Issued Illegally
Yesterday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy exposed that 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) reviewed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) were issued illegally. This report comes after federal prosecutors indicted several noncitizens for registering to vote through the N.C. DMV, while the state agency refuses to cooperate with the State Board of Elections to ensure that noncitizens are not registered to vote.
“North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful – it's dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean. P. Duffy. “President Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.”
In a letter sent today to Governor Josh Stein and North Carolina Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, FMCSA outlined the audit’s findings of how the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to:
Drivers whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired.
Drivers who were ineligible from holding a non-domiciled commercial CDL.
Drivers without North Carolina first verifying the individual’s lawful presence in the U.S.
For North Carolina to prevent federal funding from being withheld, the Department outlined the following corrective actions:
Immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations.
Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices, and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet Federal rules.
North Carolina is the latest in a string of states putting Americans at risk by recklessly issuing non-domiciled CDLs to inadequately vetted foreign drivers.
North Carolina Republicans call out this failure by the DMV under former Governor Roy Cooper’s leadership:
“Roy Cooper put criminal illegal aliens ahead of law-abiding North Carolinians, and our state continues to pay the price,” said Whatley spokesperson Jonathan Felts. “From supporting Joe Biden’s open-borders agenda that allowed criminals into our country, to backing sanctuary-city policies and permitting unqualified drivers behind the wheel of heavy commercial vehicles, Roy Cooper has repeatedly put North Carolinians at risk.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger said, “These issues must be immediately addressed to keep North Carolinians safe on the road. The North Carolina General Assembly stands ready to assist, Secretary Duffy. I look forward to hearing about by former Governor Roy Cooper allowed the NCDOT to break federal rules and how Governor Josh Steil is going to fix Cooper’s flagrant disregard for federal law.”
NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer said, “This is a stunning failure of Radical Roy Cooper’s tenure as Governor and shows yet again he simply cannot be trusted. The NCDMV failed the people of our state for years, failed their employees, and failed to uphold state law. The biggest success of NCDMV under Cooper’s leadership? Hitting their DEI goals and, now, issuing illegals Commercial Driver’s Licenses. Democrats led by Radical Roy Cooper continue to place the interests of illegals over the safety of North Carolina families.”
House Speaker Destin Hall said, “First, the Dem DMV refuses to turn over data to the State Board of Elections, blocking election integrity. Now, we find out they’re giving licenses to illegal aliens. This is unacceptable.”
Senator Ted Budd said, “Today, the USDOT and FMCSA exposed North Carolina’s unacceptable failure rate when it comes to improper issuing non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses to ineligible individuals, including illegal immigrants. This alarming report, showing more than half of North Carolina’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued in error, underscores how this bureaucratic incompetence has endangered the safety of drivers on our roads.”
Part of Roy Cooper’s Open Border Record
While this report is shocking, it does fit in with former Governor Roy Cooper’s open borders agenda.
Here are some of the highlights of Cooper’s open border record.
Roy Cooper called President Trump’s border wall "unnecessary."
Cooper vetoed three pieces of legislation requiring North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, embracing dangerous sanctuary policies that harbor criminal illegals and make North Carolinians less safe.
Cooper's soft-on-crime policies allowed nearly 500 violent illegals back onto the streets, including those charged with rape and murder.
Under Cooper, many violent illegals like Luis Pineda-Ancheta immediately reoffended after being released due to sanctuary policies in North Carolina.
Roy Cooper said he would have voted against the legislation in favor of giving free healthcare to illegals.
Tim’s Take: The Trump administration’s threat to withhold federal funds due to violations of the law will require action from North Carolina. If Democrat Governor Josh Stein does not take action, the Republican-led General Assembly will.
