* Last month on Fox News…

Illinois could lose millions in federal funding if it does not clean up its driver’s licensing system after the U.S. Department of Transportation warned Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s top licensing official that one in five commercial licenses issued to noncitizens were issued illegally.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a written ultimatum to both the Hyatt Hotels heir and Kevin Duesterhaus, the state director of driver services under Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, and listed several cases of drivers from El Salvador to Ukraine who were in violation of the law.

“I need our state partners to understand that they work for the American people, not illegal immigrants who broke the law illegally entering our country and continue to break it by operating massive big rigs without the proper qualifications,” Duffy said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. […]

“In addition, if the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issues a final determination of substantial noncompliance, the agency may decertify Illinois’ CDL program,” Duffy wrote.

* Daily Herald…

On Thursday, [Illinois Secretary of State] Driver Services Director Kevin Duesterhaus said in a letter to FMCSA the state had followed federal rules and that nothing the government presented “would justify potentially cutting the $128 million in federal highway funding that Illinois receives.”

Federal regulators said the agency had issued commercial driver’s licenses to numerous people whose Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) allowing them to be in the U.S. had expired, and also had failed to verify if some applicants were in the country legally. […]

Secretary of state officials reviewed the 29 cases and responded that the government had ignored an exemption extending EADs for 540 days as a result of pandemic backlogs.

Regarding another allegation that the agency had not made copies of immigration documents presented by applicants, Duesterhaus said federal regulations at the time did not require such records.

* From the Secretary of State’s letter…

Every Non-Domiciled CDL applicant in Illinois presented validly issued immigration documents to SOS at the time of their Non-Dom CDL transaction. In addition, since the Entry-Level Driving Training (ELDT) requirement took effect in 2022, all first-time applicants have undergone the necessary federal training and testing required to drive a truck.

In addition, Illinois has not issued any Non-Dom CDLs since FMCSA issued its interim rule in September 2025. The goal of SOS is to continue to work collaboratively with FMCSA to promptly resume issuing Non-Domiciled CDLs. […]

Eleven Non-Dom CDLs correctly issued to persons presenting an EAD and an I-797C

FMCSA incorrectly asserts that SOS improperly issued Non-Dom CDLs to applicants who presented an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and an I-797C, claiming their EAD was expired. […]

On November 18, 2016, due to extended processing times by USCIS for EAD renewal applications DHS published a final rule, effective January 17, 2017, that automatically extended certain categories of EADs for 180 days if the holder of the EAD filed a petition to renew their EAD prior to its expiration in the same category indicated on the face of the EAD. […]

DHS subsequently issued two temporary final rules increasing the 180-day extension to 540 days. On December 13, 2024, DHS published a final rule, effective January 13, 2025, that permanently increased the automatic extension from 180 days to 540 days.

Seven Non-Dom CDLs correctly issued to applicants with 1-94 Records

FMCSA identified seven records (WH, LNC, GVP, WS, RW, PVR, and IZ) where applicants provided an 1-94, but incorrectly asserts that SOS did not provide evidence that each applicant also presented an unexpired foreign passport to accompany the I- 946. The seven applicants presented an unexpired foreign passport at the time of the Non-Dom CDL transaction as required by federal regulation at the time. SOS policy has always required applicants to provide a foreign passport when an 1-94 is presented. […]

Two Non-Dom CDLs correctly issued to applicants presenting an EAD

FMCSA incorrectly asserts that two Non-Dom CDL applicants (MLC and DM) presented expired EADs and were issued Non-Dom CDLs. In both instances, the driver presented a valid and unexpired EAD for their respective transactions on February 26, 2025, and November 6, 2024, which was noted on their applications. Both applicants presented valid an unexpired EADs at the time of the transaction, which SOS documented in its records. However, SOS inadvertently provided FMCSA with expired EADs from a previous transaction in its initial response.

One Non-Dom CDL correctly issued to an applicant with an l-20 form (student application)

FMCSA incorrectly asserts that JY - a student - failed to submit an approved I-94 to accompany the passport or an unexpired EAD. An 1-94 issued to a student reflects an “admitted to” date of “D/S,” or Duration of Status, that allows them to stay in the U.S. during the duration of their academic program, and which the applicant supplied. Clearly, D/S is not an expiration date that can be printed on a Non-Dom CDL. An applicant admitted as a student is issued an I-20 which is the document that contains the student’s program or authorized practical training completion date. The student has 60 days from the program or authorized practical training completion date to depart the United States. In this instance, the applicant submitted an I-94 that indicated D/S and an I-20 that reflected the program completion date with copies retained by SOS. SOS conservatively tied the expiration date of the Non-Dom CDL to the program completion date, even though a student is authorized to remain in the United States for 60 days after program completion. As such, the Non-Dom CDL issued to JY was properly issued.

One Non-Dom CDL correctly issued a full-term credential as an asylee

FIMCSA incorrectly asserts that the expiration date associated with the Non-Dom CDL issued to ZAB (an asylee) was incorrect. ZAB presented an I-94 reflecting approved asylee status which authorizes ZAB to work incident to status. Had ZAB presented a valid foreign passport the expiration date of the Non-Dom CDL would not be tied to the passport as the passport does not indicate the length of authorized stay. ZAB was correctly issued a full-term credential based on the approved asylee status.

Emphasis was in the original. I added links to explain some terms.