Swalwell Vows To Revoke ICE Agents’ Drivers Licenses As California Faces CDL Fallout

California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell was subject to widespread criticism after pledging to revoke driver’s licenses from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who wear masks, as the state faces federal penalties over unlawfully issued commercial driver’s licenses.

Speaking Saturday at a summit hosted by the Empowerment Congress in Los Angeles, Swalwell—who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor—said he would use state authority to target ICE officers he claims operate without proper identification.

“I will take your driver’s license away if you operate in our state with a mask and unidentified,” Swalwell said. “If you harm a single Californian, hire the best lawyer you can afford, because I will bring you to justice.”

Swalwell’s remarks come amid a growing dispute between California and the federal government over the state’s handling of Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs). Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation pulled roughly $160 million in federal funding from the California Department of Motor Vehicles after the state failed to revoke an estimated 117,000 unlawfully issued CDLs. Federal officials said many of the licenses were issued to illegal migrants and other foreign drivers who did not meet English language proficiency requirements.

The funding cut followed a broader DOT investigation that uncovered what officials described as a “catastrophic pattern” of states improperly issuing non-domiciled CDLs, with California identified as the worst offender. A nationwide audit found that more than 25% of California’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued unlawfully, including licenses that remained valid long after recipients’ lawful presence documentation had expired.

Federal authorities initially set a Jan. 5 deadline for California to revoke the licenses, but the state extended the deadline to March 6 following a class-action lawsuit. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy responded days later by pulling federal funds from the DMV.

Swalwell’s comments also follow several high-profile fatal crashes allegedly involving illegal migrant truck drivers who obtained CDLs in California. In recent months, Harjinder Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Rajinder Kumar and Kamalpreet Singh—illegal migrants from India—have been accused of causing deadly highway accidents after receiving non-domiciled CDLs from the state.

In one case, Harjinder Singh was charged in August 2025 with three counts of vehicular homicide after allegedly making an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway, killing three people. Federal investigators later found he demonstrated minimal English proficiency, answering only two of 12 questions correctly on a verbal test and identifying just one of four traffic signs.

The Department of Homeland Security responded with condemnation for Swalwell’s proposal. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said threatening ICE officers for wearing masks endangers federal law enforcement.

“Our officers wear masks to protect themselves from being doxxed and targeted,” McLaughlin told the Daily Caller News Foundation, citing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE personnel. She warned that rhetoric demonizing federal agents contributes to rising violence against them.

The controversy also intersects with a new California law passed in September that bans most law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings during operations. DHS has said it will not comply with the statute, arguing that states have no authority to regulate federal agents’ conduct.

As Swalwell ramps up his gubernatorial campaign, the clash highlights growing tensions between California Democrats and federal immigration authorities, as well as ongoing scrutiny of the state’s role in licensing commercial drivers who operate on American highways.

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