The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Florida’s request to file a lawsuit against California and Washington over allegations that those states issue commercial driver licenses (CDLs) to illegal aliens who cannot read English.
The unsigned order provided no reasoning, though Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, penned a sharp dissent warning the Court is abandoning its constitutional duty to hear disputes between states. Florida brought the case under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction—the only forum where one state can directly sue another. The complaint alleged California and Washington defied federal law by licensing foreign nationals who entered the country illegally and lack basic English proficiency.
The case traces back to a fatal crash on the Florida Turnpike on August 12, 2025. A truck driver named Harjinder Singh attempted a U-turn across the median, blocking both lanes of traffic. His trailer collision with a minivan killed three people inside the vehicle. According to the dissent, Singh had crossed the Mexican border illegally and federal FMCSA testing revealed he could not correctly answer most verbal questions or identify more than one highway sign out of four.
Justice Thomas argued Florida moved for leave to file a complaint claiming states’ CDL practices constitute an actionable public nuisance. He highlighted that enforcement data indicated neither state adequately verified English proficiency among license holders, and Florida asserted federal law preempted state licensing standards requiring immigration status checks. The dissent emphasized the Court’s exclusive original jurisdiction over such disputes, warning that refusing to hear the case leaves complaining states with no judicial recourse.
The decision denies the motion for leave to file a bill of complaint but does not resolve whether blue states may issue CDLs to illegal aliens who fail basic English competency. Thomas and Alito contend the Court erred by rejecting jurisdiction, stressing that state-versus-state disputes demand this forum. The ruling leaves unanswered whether Florida’s allegations—rooted in the August 2025 crash and broader patterns of fatal accidents involving non-English-speaking CDL holders—are valid under federal law.