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The US Supreme Court refused to let Florida file an unusual lawsuit that accused California and Washington of making it too easy for undocumented immigrants to get commercial driver’s licenses.
Giving no explanation, the justices on Tuesday rejected Florida’s bid to sue its fellow states directly in the Supreme Court, as states can do under some circumstances to protect their sovereign interests. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, saying they would have granted Florida’s motion to file the complaint.
Florida argued unsuccessfully that California and Washington were failing to verify the immigration status of license applicants and require them to show English proficiency, as required under federal law. Florida claimed it was having to implement "a flurry of costly preventive measures" to keep its roads safe.
California said the lawsuit was based on the "unfounded assumption" that the state doesn’t verify legal presence and test for English proficiency. Washington called the suit "a political stunt, not a real claim," pointing to Florida Attorney General's show on Fox News.
The lawsuit blamed California and Washington for a fatal accident caused by an undocumented immigrant making an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer on a Florida highway. Florida said the driver at one point had California and Washington licenses, though Washington said he didn't have a valid license from that state at the time of the crash.
"An illegal alien who cannot read English road signs cannot drive an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer," Thomas wrote in his dissenting opinion.
The case is Florida v. California and Washington, 22o162.
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