Trump administration revokes 28,000 non-citizen trucking licences, prioritises veterans

The US government has cancelled the commercial truck driver licences (CDLs) of around 28,000 non-citizens as it launched an initiative to replace these drivers with US military veterans.

This programme was confirmed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.

The new campaign was launched last week and will promote programs that allow veterans with experience driving large vehicles to skip the required skill tests to obtain a commercial driver's licence, Breitbart.com reported.

The report said that federal officials have worked in tandem with their state counterparts to cancel the licences of non-citizen truck drivers who are not proficient in either reading or speaking English.

The US Transportation Department began enforcing English-language requirements for truck drivers last summer. In August last year, a major crash in Florida in which a trucker took an illegal U-turn, after which three people died, made a case for stricter rules for truckers in the country. The driver of said vehicle was an Indian, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he should not have been given a licence in the first place.

"We are removing more and more dangerous foreign drivers off our roads every day and restoring the integrity of America's trucking industry," PBS quoted Duffy as saying.

"Our new Freedom Hauliers campaign will help build on these successes and get the word out that there's never been a better time for America's former service members to get behind the wheel of a big rig," he added.

“Too many American lives have been lost in completely avoidable accidents because illegal aliens have been granted commercial driver’s licenses to drive trucks and 18-wheelers on America’s roadways,” Breitbart.com quoted DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin as saying.

“DHS law enforcement is partnering with the Department of Transportation to eliminate CDL fraud, strengthen the integrity of the CDL system, and investigate commercial driver’s license schools throughout the country. This is a whole-of-government approach to keep America’s roads safe,” Mullin added.

Trucking industry welcomes move

The US trucking industry has welcomed the move, as it will help remove unqualified drivers from the road.

Chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises, Derek Leathers, told PBS in this regard, “Veterans make up 15% of our workforce and bring the highest levels of leadership, discipline and technical skills that are essential to our success. We are dedicated to providing them with meaningful careers and a supportive environment where they can thrive.”