The Supreme Court denied Florida’s request to sue California and Washington over allegations that those states issue commercial driver licenses (CDLs) to illegal aliens who cannot read English. The decision, issued Tuesday without explanation, followed an unsigned order rejecting Florida’s motion for leave to file a complaint under the Court’s original jurisdiction.

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, wrote a sharp dissent warning that the Court was abandoning its constitutional duty to resolve state-versus-state disputes. The dissent highlighted Florida’s claims that California and Washington violate federal law by licensing foreign nationals who crossed borders illegally and fail basic English proficiency tests—a pattern linked to fatal crashes.

The case stems from a deadly August 12, 2025, crash on the Florida Turnpike involving Harjinder Singh. According to federal testing after the incident, Singh could not correctly answer most verbal questions and identified only one highway sign among four. His actions blocked both lanes of traffic, killing three people in a minivan. Law enforcement later confirmed his illegal border crossing.

Florida argued that states’ CDL practices constitute an actionable public nuisance by allowing drivers who lack English proficiency to operate commercial vehicles across state lines. The dissent emphasized that the Court’s refusal to hear the case—without addressing its merits—leaves Florida with no judicial forum for relief, a critical issue under the Constitution’s original jurisdiction rules.

The ruling does not resolve whether blue states can issue CDLs to illegal aliens who fail English tests. It merely blocked procedural advancement of Florida’s lawsuit, which was supported by Iowa and 16 other states. Thomas and Alito stressed that state disputes over federal licensing standards must reach the Supreme Court, as no other court has jurisdiction in such matters.

The legal question remains unanswered: whether states’ CDL practices violate federal law when they permit drivers who cannot read road signs to operate commercial vehicles nationwide.