Supreme Court Rejects Florida Lawsuit Over Undocumented Truck Drivers

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up Florida's lawsuit challenging a federal policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants to obtain commercial truck driver licenses, leaving in place a lower court ruling against the state.

The justices turned away the case without comment, as is standard practice when the court denies certiorari. The rejection ends Florida's legal effort to block a federal rule under which undocumented immigrants granted deportation deferrals — primarily recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA — can qualify for commercial driver's licenses in states that choose to issue them. Florida had argued the federal government exceeded its authority in permitting the practice and that the policy harmed the state's workforce and public safety interests.

For Treasure Coast residents, the ruling affects a regional economy heavily dependent on commercial trucking. Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties sit along Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 corridors that move agricultural products, construction materials, and consumer goods up and down Florida's eastern coast. The ruling preserves a federal framework under which Florida employers could recruit from a broader pool of licensed drivers.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody pursued the lawsuit as part of a broader state effort to challenge Biden-era immigration policies in federal court. Opponents of the lawsuit, including immigration advocacy groups, argued that DACA recipients are lawfully present under federal policy and that barring them from commercial licenses was discriminatory and economically counterproductive.

The Supreme Court's denial of certiorari is not a ruling on the merits but means the lower court decision stands. No further appellate avenue remains for the state in this specific case. The DACA program itself faces separate ongoing litigation in federal courts.

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