Washington, D.C. — A coalition of local governments and leaders from across the country filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Jorge Rivera Lujan et al. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration et al. The coalition urges the court to pause the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) interim final rule “Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses,” which would revoke or prevent renewal of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) held by asylum seekers, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients authorized to live and work in the United States.

The brief was filed in support of plaintiffs Jorge Rivera Lujan, Aleksei Semenovskii, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Democracy Forward and the Public Rights Project represent the coalition.

The coalition includes: City of Albany, New York; City of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Montgomery County, Maryland; City of New York, New York; City and County of San Francisco, California; Celina Benitez, Mayor, City of Mount Rainier, Maryland; Jesse Brown, Councilmember, City of Indianapolis, Indiana; Chelsea Byers, Mayor, City of West Hollywood, California; Chris Canales, Councilmember, City of El Paso, Texas; Michael Chameides, Supervisor, County of Columbia, New York; John Clark, Mayor, Town of Ridgway, Colorado; Alison Coombs, Councilmember, City of Aurora, Colorado; Christine Corrado, Councilmember, Township of Brighton, New York; Nikki Fortunato Bas, Supervisor, Alameda County, California; Brenda Gadd, Councilmember, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; Caroline Torosis, Mayor Pro Tempore, City of Santa Monica, California; Terry Vo, Councilmember, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; Ginny Welsch, Councilmember, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; and Robin Wilt, Councilmember, Township of Brighton, New York.

The rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Trump-Vance administration, immediately restricts the number of qualified commercial drivers across the country—forcing local governments to scale back public services that depend on licensed operators, such as public transportation, school bus routes, and road maintenance. FMCSA itself estimates that nearly 200,000 drivers could lose their CDLs, a reduction that would ripple through local economies and undermine road safety.

“By cutting hundreds of thousands of trained and lawfully authorized drivers out of the workforce, this rule threatens the stability of essential services—from getting children to school to keeping roads clear for emergency responders. Our government’s responsibility is to protect people and strengthen communities, not create new barriers that endanger public safety and livelihoods,” said Elena Goldstein, Legal Director at Democracy Forward. “We are honored to represent this coalition and support efforts to protect the American people and businesses.”

“At a time when cities and counties are already stretched thin, this rule needlessly sidelines qualified drivers and puts entire communities at risk. Local governments rely on these workers to keep school buses running, roads safe and emergency services moving. Through this coalition, we’re standing up for public safety and the basic infrastructure families depend on every day,” said Jon Miller, Chief Program Officer at Public Rights Project.

The brief emphasizes that the interim final rule does not advance road safety. In fact, the FMCSA acknowledged in its own rulemaking that there is insufficient evidence linking a driver’s citizenship or domicile to safety outcomes. Instead, local governments warn that the rule will worsen driver shortages, increase costs, disrupt transit and supply chains, and heighten safety risks by overworking remaining staff and leaving critical services understaffed.

The case is Jorge Rivera Lujan et al. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration et al.

Read the brief here.