Shapiro defends Pennsylvania CDL process after Uzbek terror suspect case

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro responded to backlash over the arrest of an Uzbek illegal immigrant with suspected terror ties who was captured by federal authorities while holding a Pennsylvania commercial driver’s license.

Akhror Bozorov was nabbed by ICE while driving a big rig in Kansas and holding a Pennsylvania CDL with a Somerton, Philadelphia address. He was wanted in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on suspicion of ties to terrorist groups among other allegations, according to DHS.

Shapiro said Bozorov still remained in the federal database PennDOT uses to vet noncitizens for licensure validity as of Wednesday – and administration officials penned a scathing letter to lawmakers about the incident, disputing that it was ever possible he was registered to vote as some critics questioned.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders obtained by Fox News Digital, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll, a Democrat, and Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Republican, pushed back on “misstatements and ill-informed speculation” from critical officials, including allegations illegal immigrants are permitted under the Shapiro administration to obtain state driver’s licenses.

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“All non-citizens who apply for driver’s licenses… must provide PennDOT with proof of identity and must have their legal presence in this country verified through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database,” Carroll and Schmidt wrote.

“The SAVE database is maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security. In the instance the letter references, PennDOT followed the established federal process for confirming that the applicant was lawfully present using the SAVE database,” they said.

Carroll said PennDOT communicated with DHS on the matter Tuesday and found the database did not flag any issues in the time since Bozorov’s license was issued in July.

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Schmidt’s office handles voter registration and state elections, and the letter went on to say that noncitizens who are lawfully issued licenses are marked with “special indicators” that prevent them from utilizing any “motor voter” registration processes.

“We checked the federal database months ago, when this individual received his CDL, and he was authorized to get it by the federal database,” Shapiro said Wednesday.

“Ironically, we went and checked the database yesterday—he’s still qualified to get a CDL.”

Shapiro said DHS was “clearly not minding the shop” and “got to get better — because every single state in the country relies on this database when making a determination as to who qualifies for a CDL. We relied on the feds before issuing this one.”

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DHS pushed back on Shapiro’s claims, saying that federal work authorization “does not confer any legal status in this country” and that data limitations stem from prior administrations.

“Just because the Biden administration granted Bozorov—a wanted terrorist—work authorization and sanctuary politician Gov. Shapiro allowed him to get a CDL in Pennsylvania, does not mean he should be on America’s roads operating an 18-wheeler and potentially transporting hazardous materials,” a DHS spokesperson said Thursday.