More than 9,500 commercial truckers taken off U.S. roads nationwide

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

More than 9,500 commercial truckers have been taken off of U.S. roads for failing English-language proficiency checks, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

“We’ve now knocked 9,500 truck drivers out of service for failing to speak our national language – ENGLISH!” Duffy said in an X post. “This administration will always put you and your family’s safety first.”

The total includes combined enforcement actions taken nationwide since May, after Duffy signed new guidance to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. It requires those who fail to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) longstanding English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements to be placed out-of-service.

“America First means safety first,” Duffy said when signing it. “Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs. This common-sense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist.

He implemented the policy after President Donald Trump signed executive orders declaring English as the official language of the United States and directing him to do so. The order also reversed an Obama-era rule that instructed inspectors to issue citations, not remove CMV drivers from service, who failed FMCSA English requirements.

“My Administration will enforce the law to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others, including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensure that anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English,” Trump’s order states. “This is common sense.”

In August, Duffy warned Democratic-led states to enforce the English language proficiency requirements or lose federal funding. By September, he took emergency enforcement action against California for “gross negligence” after an FMCSA nationwide audit identified “a catastrophic pattern of states issuing licenses illegally to foreign drivers,” The Center Square reported.

It uncovered systemic non-compliance in several states, identifying California as the worst. Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington licensing patterns were also “not consistent with federal regulations,” FMCSA found.

By December, Duffy had removed nearly 3,000 training providers for commercial driver’s licenses from the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. Those removed were cited for “falsifying or manipulating training data; neglecting to meet required curriculum standards, facility conditions or instructor qualifications; and failing to maintain accurate, complete documentation or refusing to provide records during federal audits or investigations,” The Center Square reported.

The actions were taken as state and local law enforcement agencies also implemented enforcement measures.

Earlier in the year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed Texas Department of Public Safety to crack down on commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). In four months, they took enforcement action against nearly 450 CMV drivers, The Center Square reported. Texas DPS also suspended issuing CDLs in several categories to comply with the federal rule.

In Oklahoma, more than 120 were arrested in an operation conducted on I-40 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Their criminal histories included convictions for DUI, illegal re-entry, money laundering, human smuggling, assault, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and possession of a controlled substance, The Center Square reported.

Those arrested were from Tajikistan, India, Montenegro, El Salvador, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Belarus, Haiti, Ukraine, Türkiye, Meri Tamia, Cuba, Guatemala, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Columbia and Mexico, Oklahoma HP said. They were issued CDLs from California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio and New York, Oklahoma HP said. In another operation, another 70 foreign nationals from 15 countries were arrested who couldn’t speak English, The Center Square reported.

Also on I-40, in one day, Texas DPS and ICE arrested more than 30 illegal foreign nationals in the panhandle, The Center Square reported.

In Indiana, state police and ICE arrested 223 in one operation on Indiana highways near the Illinois state line, The Center Square reported.

In New York, Border Patrol agents working with ICE are arresting illegal CMV drivers, the majority of whom have out of state issued licenses, The Center Square reported.

The “alarming trend of illegal aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States operating commercial vehicles … raises significant safety concerns,” Acting Buffalo Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent James D’Amato said. “Drivers who are not fluent or with little to no ability to speak or read English pose a serious risk on our roadways, especially when operating large vehicles that require a high level of skill and understanding of traffic laws. The ongoing major accidents nationwide involving such drivers highlight the critical need for enforcement and vigilance to protect public safety.”