- Adam Capper
- (916) 319-2035
- Adam.Capper@asm.ca.gov
(SACRAMENTO, CA) November 24, 2025 – Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D- Delano) today sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, demanding immediate executive intervention to stop the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from enforcing racially motivated revocations of Sikh and Indian trucker Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs).
The letter comes in response to a new federal Interim Final Rule that targets non-domiciled CDL holders. Dr. Bains argues the bureaucratic change is fueled by a hateful right-wing media campaign designed to strip thousands of Sikh and Indian truck drivers of their livelihoods.
“We are witnessing a coordinated effort to paint Sikh and Indian drivers as ‘dangerous’ or ‘foreign menaces’ based on nothing but right-wing xenophobia,” said Dr. Bains. “This policy is the direct result of racist rhetoric that weaponizes isolated accidents to vilify an entire community. By capitulating to this federal rule, the DMV is effectively validating the lie that Indian immigrants are a threat to public safety. This is ‘turban targeting,’ plain and simple.” In her letter, Dr. Bains highlighted that the drivers facing revocation are fully documented, tax-paying residents who hold valid work authorizations. She noted that the sudden policy shift follows months of inflammatory coverage in conservative media that has played on fears of immigrants to attack the logistics industry’s diverse workforce.
“California must not serve as the enforcement arm for bigotry,” Dr. Bains continued. “These men and women kept our supply chains moving through the worst of the pandemic. Now, they are being told they don’t belong on our roads because of a political agenda that seeks to vilify their very existence in the United States. The Governor must halt these revocations immediately. We cannot allow the DMV to strip the livelihoods of hardworking families to score points for a hateful political narrative.”
Dr. Bains is calling on the Governor to halt the cancellation of non-domiciled CDLs for drivers while the state pursues legal avenues to protect its workforce from this discriminatory overreach.
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Dr. Jasmeet Bains represents the 35th Assembly District in Kern County, including the cities of Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Arvin, Shafter, and McFarland.