The Trump administration has taken nearly 9,500 commercial truck drivers off the road for failing to meet federal English-language requirements, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, marking one of the most aggressive enforcement actions the industry has seen in years.
Under the new directive, law enforcement officers are empowered to pull drivers out of service on the spot if they cannot demonstrate sufficient English proficiency during roadside inspections. Officials say the rule — long part of federal safety standards but rarely enforced — is essential to ensure drivers can read signs, understand instructions and communicate with authorities while operating large commercial vehicles.
In September, Duffy moved to restrict commercial driver’s licenses for foreign-born applicants — a move blocked temporarily by a federal court.
From safety push to immigration agenda
What began as a highway safety initiative has morphed into a far-reaching enforcement drive that immigrant advocates say disproportionately targets foreign-born drivers who are legally allowed to work in the US.
The Department of Transportation, traditionally focused on safety and logistics, is now a central player in the administration’s immigration policy.
Shift from prior administrations
While language requirements for commercial drivers have existed for decades, violations under the Obama administration typically resulted in citations rather than removal from service. That changed after President Trump’s April executive order calling for “commonsense rules of the road.” Within weeks, the DOT directed inspectors to take drivers out of service if they could not “sufficiently read or speak English,” calling English the nation’s “national language.”
Trucking safety incident fuels debate
Tensions escalated in August after immigrant trucker Harjinder Singh allegedly attempted an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, leading to a crash that killed three people. Federal officials highlighted Singh’s immigration history, saying he had entered the US illegally before securing a California commercial driver’s license. Singh has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
Visa restrictions
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since suspended worker visas for foreign truckers, warning that rising numbers of non-US drivers were “endangering American lives.”
Days later, the Department of Transportation issued an emergency rule restricting eligibility for “non-domiciled” commercial driver’s licenses — affecting drivers who are neither citizens nor permanent residents — based on their immigration status.
