Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro gestures to fans at the Pitt/WVU game at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown WV (Brien Aho/Getty Images)
"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.
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.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/shapiro-responds-illegal-immigrant-trucker-fiasco-says-driver-fed-database-first