The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Florida’s effort to litigate against California and Washington state over their policies of granting commercial driver licenses to truck drivers who do not speak English and are not legally authorized to reside in the United States.
This legal action was prompted by a deadly accident in Florida last year, resulting in three fatalities. The incident involved Harjinder Singh, an Indian national, who is alleged to have performed an illegal U-turn, leading to the crash. Singh was in possession of a legitimate commercial driver’s license from California, having previously held one from Washington state.
Florida, led by Republicans, criticized the Democrat-led states for allegedly violating immigration statutes. They appealed to the Supreme Court to declare that states do not have the power to issue commercial driver licenses to individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor legal permanent residents.
While the Supreme Court mainly reviews decisions from lower courts, it occasionally takes on original lawsuits where states initiate legal proceedings against each other directly at the nation’s highest judicial level.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision, as is their usual stance when the Supreme Court declines original lawsuits. They argued that the court is obligated to hear these cases.
In a separate judicial development, a federal appeals court has halted a Trump administration initiative that aimed to enforce stricter regulations, significantly restricting which immigrants could acquire commercial driver’s licenses for operating semitrailer trucks or buses.
