S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. 13,000 immigrant truck drivers have lost their California licenses due to a federal government requirement. We'll talk about the impact and where things stand. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The federal government is requiring the California DMV to cancel commercial driver's license of roughly 13,000 truck drivers without permanent legal status. That includes drivers with some work visas , refugee or asylum status , or DACA , among other authorizations. The DMV says it's allowing affected drivers to submit new license applications , but the federal government is barring them from being processed. It's the latest in a month long bureaucratic saga between the federal government , State of California and advocacy groups. For immigrant drivers , it means fear and uncertainty. Many are left unable to work and anxious about their livelihoods. Joining me now is Govender Singh. He's international humanitarian aid director at the advocacy group United States and an advocate for commercial license due process protections. Govender , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thank you. Sincerely appreciate you guys , allowing us the opportunity to get the plight of the drivers , those who are directly impacted on the ground. Out to your listeners.
S1: Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation. So , you know , around 40% of West Coast truck drivers are six. According to estimates by the North American Punjabi Trucking Association. Your group held a no year rights workshop back in December.
S2: There was a lot of misinformation out there. There was a lot of fear out there , and they just wanted to get a gist of what their rights would be , because this was their dream. This is why many escaped persecution. This is why many have sold their lands and given up their ancestral , uh , you know , all of their riches and so forth to have this opportunity in the United States and an opportunity they hold near and dear. Wow.
S1: Wow. You know , help me understand , because it takes a lot to get a commercial driver's license.
S2: You know , they they did what all of us do who obtain a driver's license. You have to have the certifications , you have to have the qualifications. You have to pass the necessary testing. And they did. And they jumped through all of these loops and hurdles. They did exactly what they were required to do. They provided the documentation. They passed the necessary tests , and yet they're still being sidelined. They're still being scapegoated. Which makes very little sense , because if this was a matter of security , then there could be other stipulations. You know , maybe we could , uh , enforce more stops and we could test for , uh , individuals who maybe were under the influence.
S1: The Trump administration has really used these two fatal crashes that happened last year involving sick drivers as an opportunity to focus on immigrants licenses. Um , and there's been a reported increase in harassment against sick drivers as a result.
S2: Now , roughly what we're seeing is one out of five truck drivers are immigrants. So if there's already a shortage and you're already and you're going to target those who are willing to work and who are willing to bring the medicines and the foods and and the building materials and basically provide the backbone of this economy. Then it's going to hurt us all. You know , it's going to impact everyone's bottom line. And I think we have to understand that because these truckers have given up , you know , their ancestral lands , they have come here to seek the opportunity and the freedom to work because they see the freedoms that are that they have afforded to them , such as due process. And we feel that the administration has jumped the gun. They have been they have arbitrarily and we feel discriminatory , just blanket denied everyone access to a livelihood without any data , without any substance. And is just this a climate of fear that everyone is just there ? They are. I cannot even the apprehension they feel about not being able to provide milk for their families , about not being able to provide medication for their parents. Um , our helpline has been inundated. We have dealt with over 700 phone calls.
S1:
S2: But what they're seeing but what we're seeing is that they're going in circles because they're told to reapply because of the judgment that has come in. But then the , uh , the FMC , FMC is saying that , well , you cannot process it. So it's like a catch 22. So many are things , you know , some are just thinking , doing menial jobs. But even to get to their jobs , they're not able to have transportation. So some are having family members drop them off , some are walking , some are utilizing buses. But it's such a hit in the economy and such a hit to their families that their , uh , the mental anguish that they're going through. We can feel it , you know , and we can hear it on the phone calls. I'll give you an example. The day of March 6th , when the studios , uh , the state was lifted. We had an individual whose mother had passed away the same day. So he got he got the news of his mother passing away and his livelihood being taken away from him. So , uh , it is something I think the repercussions are going to be felt in the economy , uh , for , for a long time to come. And , uh , hence we're making sure that , uh , it's already hard enough , as we can see , uh , with the economy as it is to provide a livelihood for an education for your children and go to the grocery store , which has gone up 2 to 3 times. Right. And just filling up gas. We've seen what that's doing to our pocketbooks. Now , imagine if 20% of those individuals who are bringing these goods to our stores. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: To our pharmacies are going to be taken off the roads.
S1:
S2: It's available to anybody , you know , with mental health or drug addiction , bullying. And the number is 1-855-878-6333. It is the helpline which means hope. Our advice is please hang in there. We are working on our end to ensure that we can get these rules overturned. We can get them to get back on the road to not give up. Um , and also to work within legal means to continuously advocate. Because one thing that you know , everyone is to a tee appreciative of is the opportunity in the United States of due process. And we are certain that , you know , the Constitution holds merit. We are certain that the Constitution is paramount , and we are certain that due to that , due to the having them having due process , that they will certainly win and be allowed back on the road.
S1: Well , we of course will have more resources and information and links on our website at KPBS. I've been speaking with Cavender , saying he's the international humanitarian aid director with the advocacy group United Six. Govender , thank you so much and thanks for sticking in there with us.
S2: Jade , thank you for your time and be blessed and thank you for the opportunity.
S1: You do the same. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
