New York Governor’s Licensing Practices Under Fire for Allowing Illegal Migrants to Drive Heavy Trucks
Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday over commercial trucking licenses issued to migrants in the country illegally during her tenure.
“Gov. Hochul is knowingly putting New Yorkers in danger. She is handing out commercial licenses to people who should never be behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck, and the consequences have been deadly,” Blakeman, Nassau County executive, stated.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy identified New York as the eighth state routinely issuing commercial driver’s licenses that remain valid long after recipients are no longer legally authorized to be in the country. He threatened to withhold $73 million in highway funds unless the system is fixed and flawed licenses are revoked.
“Hochul’s policies create a system where individuals without proper vetting and training — and even those with revoked licenses — can legally drive massive trucks through our communities. That is an unacceptable public safety failure,” Blakeman added. “My administration will restore common sense and public safety. For every CDL handed out to someone in the country illegally, we will give a CDL to a hard-working New Yorker who plays by the rules.”
New York was the fourth state run by a Democrat governor publicly called out by Duffy in his effort to ensure truck and bus drivers are qualified to haul passengers or up to 80,000 pounds of cargo. Federal audits also uncovered instances where states may not have checked a driver’s immigration status before issuing a license.
Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki defended the governor: “While Gov. Hochul has made record investments in public safety and worked with law enforcement to bring crime down, Bruce Blakeman actually let violent crime go up in Nassau, hitting 10-year highs, withheld funding for local law enforcement, and refused to lift a finger when Trump tried to defund the NYPD — because he’d rather protect Donald Trump than his own constituents.”
