Justice Clarence Thomas Blasts Supreme Court For Refusing To Hear Florida’s Lawsuit Against Blue States Issuing Driver’s Licenses To Illegal Alien Truckers

by Jim Hᴏft May. 27, 2026 10:30 am

Justice Clarence Thomas delivered a scathing dissent Tuesday as the Supreme Court refused to let Florida sue California and Washington over their lawless practice of handing out commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens who cannot read English road signs.

The Court denied Florida’s motion for leave to file a bill of complaint in the original jurisdiction case, leaving the state with “nowhere else to bring” its claims, Thomas wrote. He was joined by Justice Samuel Alito.

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SCOTUS Sides With Blue States, Rejects Florida Challenge Over Issuing Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Aliens

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Florida’s lawsuit against California and Washington over their issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

The Gateway Pundit

This decision comes after the horrific August 12, 2025, crash on the Florida Turnpike. Illegal alien Harjinder Singh, an Indian national who entered the U.S. illegally through the Mexican border, obtained CDLs from both California and Washington despite failing English proficiency tests at least ten times in Washington and once in California.

Singh approached a clearly marked “no U-turn” sign for official use only, ignored it, and swung his massive tractor-trailer across both lanes of the highway. The trailer crushed a minivan traveling behind him. All three passengers in the minivan were killed.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration testing after the crash confirmed Singh could not correctly answer most verbal questions and identified only one out of four highway signs.

Thomas did not mince words:

“An illegal alien who cannot read English road signs cannot drive an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer.”

Federal law and regulations require states to ensure CDL applicants pass a driver’s test, sufficiently understand English, and demonstrate appropriate immigration status. California and Washington defied those rules.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier brought the original jurisdiction suit arguing the blue states’ sanctuary policies and refusal to check immigration status or English proficiency created a public nuisance and violated federal preemption. Iowa and 16 other states backed Florida’s effort.

The Supreme Court turned it down without comment.

Thomas blasted the abdication:

“This Court declines to even hear Florida’s claims, even though it has nowhere else to bring them.”

He reiterated that the Constitution gives the Supreme Court exclusive original jurisdiction over controversies between states — and that the Court has no business inventing discretion to dodge these cases. If states cannot bring these disputes here, they have no judicial forum at all.

Fox News reported:

Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, said the Supreme Court had a constitutional obligation to hear the dispute because lawsuits between states can only be brought before the high court.

"If this Court does not exercise jurisdiction over a controversy between two States, then the complaining State has no judicial forum in which to seek relief," Thomas wrote.

Thomas argued that Florida’s allegations against Washington and California were serious because failing to follow federal commercial licensing laws can create dangerous road conditions and, he said, has contributed to deadly crashes.

Thomas pointed to the fatal Florida highway crash involving truck driver Harjinder Singh, who he said "could not read the road signs," and argued Florida deserved a chance to pursue its claims.

[...]

"We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given," Thomas wrote.

Thomas accused the Supreme Court of failing to abide by the Constitution when it declines to hear disputes between states.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/202...refusing-hear/