{"id":116431,"date":"2025-10-20T10:52:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/?post_type=news&p=116431"},"modified":"2025-10-20T12:30:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:30:40","slug":"lawsuit-challenges-punitive-trump-regulation-targeting-the-livelihood-of-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/news\/lawsuit-challenges-punitive-trump-regulation-targeting-the-livelihood-of-immigrants\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawsuit Challenges Punitive Trump Regulation Targeting the Livelihood of Immigrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Public Citizen Litigation Group, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)\u00a0 today filed <\/span>a petition for review<\/span><\/a> in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to challenge a rule that threatens the livelihoods of nearly 200,000 people. Under the rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on September 29, 2025, asylum seekers, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who have work authorization are barred from holding commercial driver\u2019s licenses based on their immigration status. These licenses are necessary for truck drivers, bus drivers, and delivery drivers, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit, titled <\/span>Rivera Lujan v. FMSCA<\/span><\/i>, was filed on behalf of Jorge Rivera Lujan, Aleksei Semenovskii, AFSCME, and the AFT, and will challenge both the substance of the rule and FMCSA\u2019s failure to follow rulemaking procedures required by law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis unlawful rule seems intended to put people authorized to work in the United States out of work, solely because of the prejudices of the Trump administration,\u201d said <\/span>Wendy Liu, attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group<\/b>. \u201cWe are asking the court to promptly invalidate the rule to prevent devastating consequences for our clients and the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who depend on commercial driver\u2019s licenses for their livelihoods.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Issued without the required notice and comment period, the rule states that it is effective immediately. When Rivera Lujan, a DACA recipient and truck driver of 11 years who owns his own trucking company, went to renew his license on September 30, he was told that he could not do so because of the new rule.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a commercial driver\u2019s license, I will lose my business and the income that allows me to provide for my family,\u201d said <\/span>Mr. Rivera Lujan<\/b>, who has lived in the United States since he was 2 years old. \u201cI have followed all the rules and complied with all requirements set by the government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.<\/b> Semenovskii<\/b>, an asylum seeker from Russia who has been driving trucks for more than five years, said. \u201cDriving a truck is how I support my family. I\u2019ve endured tremendous hardship but have fought to rebuild my life through trucking. For me and so many others, this rule will be a tragedy, destroying years of sacrifice and honest work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe administration\u2019s new rule prevents immigrants who are lawfully present in the country and authorized to work from supporting themselves and their families,”<\/span> said AFSCME President Lee Saunders.<\/b> “It also disrupts essential services communities rely on. Drivers who take our children to school, deliver food and medicine, and clean trash off the streets must have these commercial driver’s licenses, and denying them inflicts unnecessary pain on everyone their lives touch.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Trump administration, the cruelty is the point,\u201d said <\/span>AFT President Randi Weingarten<\/b>. \u201cThis is a spiteful and illegal rule issued with no justification except to hurt hundreds of thousands of lawful immigrants with work authorization who only want to build a better life for themselves and their families. Many AFT members require a CDL to work as school bus drivers\u2014and right now we are seeing people turned away from training for these positions. Their American Dream will be dashed or deferred, all because of the pettiness of the president and his advisers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-116431","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","tax_topic-consumer-worker-safeguards","tax_topic-justice-the-courts","tax_case_topic-justice-the-courts","tax_supertag-taking-on-trump","tax_news-press"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLawsuit Challenges Punitive Trump Regulation Targeting the Livelihood of Immigrants - Public Citizen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/news\/lawsuit-challenges-punitive-trump-regulation-targeting-the-livelihood-of-immigrants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawsuit Challenges Punitive Trump Regulation Targeting the Livelihood of Immigrants - 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