Thomas rebukes Supreme Court for refusing Florida's case against states licensing illegal immigrant truckers
Justice Clarence Thomas accused the Supreme Court on Tuesday of abandoning its constitutional duty after the majority refused to hear Florida's lawsuit alleging that California and Washington illegally issued commercial driver's licenses to illegal immigrants who cannot read English road signs, a policy Thomas linked directly to fatal highway crashes.Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, argued the Court had no right to turn the case away. Florida filed its complaint under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction, the only legal avenue available when one state sues another. By declining to hear it, Thomas wrote in his dissent, the Court left Florida with nowhere else to go.
The case centers on a straightforward claim: federal law requires commercial driver's license applicants to pass a driving test, demonstrate sufficient understanding of English, and show lawful immigration status.
Florida alleged that California and Washington issued CDLs in violation of all three requirements, and that the consequences of those decisions traveled across state lines...An 80,000-pound problem.
Thomas did not mince words about the stakes. In his dissent, he wrote:
"An illegal alien who cannot read English road signs cannot drive an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer."Read about it...
