State of Illinois v. Dep’t of Transportation

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) operates a database, known as the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS), that contains personal information, obtained from state motor vehicle agencies, on approximately 17 million drivers who hold commercial driver’s licenses. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), working with federal immigration authorities, demanded that AAMVA turn over the information in the database. After AAMVA raised legal objections and various states also objected, FMCSA threatened to terminate federal funding for the database, which would prevent states from using CDLIS to coordinate issuances of commercial driver’s licenses. More than 20 states sued FMCSA to challenge the lawfulness of the data demand.

In September 2026, we filed a motion to intervene on behalf of American Federation of Teachers (AFT). AFT is a labor union with members who hold commercial driver’s licenses as a condition of employment. Moving to intervene as a plaintiff, AFT seeks to protect the privacy interests of those members, and to pursue claims against FMCSA based on the Drivers Privacy Protection Act, the Privacy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.