The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Florida’s bid to sue California and Washington over allegations that migrants were allowed to receive commercial trucking licenses. Florida’s case stemmed from a fatal August crash in Florida involving a commercial tr
On the day the Supreme Court refused to take up Florida’s lawsuit. a case that began with a deadly crash on Florida’s turnpike landed back in the hands of state courts and prosecutors—while the larger fight over who gets to hold a commercial driver’s license for work in the United States didn’t move forward in Washington.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a bid by officials in Florida to sue California and Washington over claims that those states have allowed undocumented immigrants to receive commercial trucking licenses. California and Washington deny the allegation. The court does not typically give a vote breakdown when it rejects a case nor explain its reasoning. but two conservative justices—Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.—wrote that they would have allowed Florida to bring the case.
The lawsuit was prompted by a high-profile fatal crash in Florida in August involving a commercial truck driven by an Indian immigrant. Three people in a minivan died after an 18-wheeler collided with the vehicle on Florida’s turnpike. Florida’s highway safety department accused the truck’s driver. Harjinder Singh. of causing the crash by making an illegal U-turn.
The crash turned into a political flashpoint when the Trump administration highlighted the incident, alleging that Mr. Singh was in the country illegally and had been improperly issued a commercial driver’s license by California. Mr. Singh has pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide and manslaughter. He remains in the St. Lucie County Jail, and a trial date has not been set, according to his lawyer Natalie Knight-Tai.
The episode was one of several the administration used in support of a crackdown on immigrants working in commercial trucking. The administration put in place a new emergency rule blocking certain classes of immigrants from getting commercial trucking driver’s licenses. That rule was challenged in federal court and temporarily blocked by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The dispute Florida tried to bring before the justices reaches back to older licensing policy. Previous federal policies had allowed some immigrants—including asylum seekers. refugees and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—to obtain a type of commercial driver’s license if they had authorization to work in the United States. Under the Trump administration’s approach. the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration barred certain groups of noncitizens from being able to obtain a commercial driver’s license. limiting the licenses to people on employment-based visas.
Florida’s case was built around the idea that the crash was preventable and that other states bear responsibility for how applicants are vetted. Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, argued in court filings that the fatal crash was preventable, asserting that Mr. Singh did not speak English. Mr. Uthmeier claimed that California and Washington had improperly issued commercial driver’s licenses to Mr. Singh, harming Florida by adding to the workload of state law enforcement officers.
In October, Florida asked the Supreme Court to hear its claim.
California countered that Florida’s theory rests on an incorrect assumption about how licenses are issued. California’s attorney general. Rob Bonta. urged the justices to reject the case. writing that California had complied with federal and state regulations when it issued Mr. Singh a license. Bonta said Florida’s claims turn on “an unfounded assumption” that the D.M.V. does not verify applicants’ legal presence in the United States or test for English language proficiency before issuing a commercial driver’s license.
Washington’s attorney general, Nicholas W. Brown, also urged the court to reject the lawsuit. Brown called Florida’s claims “unserious. ” asserting that the lawsuit was “a political stunt. not a real claim.” He told the justices that Mr. Uthmeier had announced the lawsuit on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News and had “neglected to notify the State of Washington of the case or serve any of the pleadings.” Brown said Washington officials received the case complaint weeks after it was filed—only after they reached out to notify Florida that they had never been served.
The justices who disagreed with the court’s decision framed the dispute as one about where states can take their grievances when the federal courthouse shuts the door. Justice Thomas wrote a dissent joined by Justice Alito. explaining that. in his view. the Supreme Court was required to take up the claims because they were part of a dispute between states and that if the court did not accept it. the state would have “nowhere else to bring them.”.
Thomas also echoed Florida’s allegations, including claims that Mr. Singh may not have been able to read highway road signs in English. Thomas wrote that Florida had asked to bring the lawsuit against states for “defying federal law by providing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens who cannot read English.” He added: “an illegal alien who cannot read English road signs cannot drive an 80. 000-pound tractor-trailer.”.
For now. the Supreme Court’s rejection leaves Florida’s attempt to escalate the licensing fight between states stalled at the highest level—while the criminal case tied to Harjinder Singh continues in the background. with no trial date set. And the broader policy battle that began with a federal emergency rule blocking certain immigrants from commercial trucking licenses remains one of the next battlegrounds. after being challenged and temporarily blocked in the federal appeals system.
Supreme Court Florida California Washington commercial driver’s license migrants Harjinder Singh James Uthmeier Rob Bonta Nicholas W. Brown Clarence Thomas Samuel A. Alito Jr. St. Lucie County Jail emergency rule Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration D.C. Circuit