The USDOT Rapid Response account posted on Twitter that "the days of allowing ILLEGAL TRUCKERS to get behind the wheel are OVER," highlighting 28,000 canceled commercial driver's licenses and 20,000 truckers placed out of service for not meeting English proficiency standards.
The message marks one year of sustained enforcement efforts by the Trump administration's Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
FMCSA launched a comprehensive review of "non-domiciled" commercial driver's licenses granted to foreign nationals lacking permanent residence in the issuing states. The investigation uncovered pervasive problems. States had issued licenses valid for years beyond the period a driver could legally remain in the country and had granted credentials to people who did not qualify under federal statutes.
California proved to be the biggest problem. The state had granted somewhere between 17,000 and 20,000 improper licenses. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned he would strip $160 million in federal highway money unless California voided them. After the state blew past its January 5, 2026 deadline, FMCS Amade good on the threat and withheld the funds. Pennsylvania confronted similar problems, with $75 million in jeopardy.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28, 2025 restoring strict application of a federal regulation long on the books but rarely enforced. The rule mandates that commercial truck drivers possess adequate ability to read, speak, and understand English. A 2016 FMCSA memo had neutered enforcement by instructing officers not to sideline drivers over language deficiencies.
The administration threw out that guidance. Beginning June 25, 2025, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance incorporated English proficiency failure into its out of service standards. Inspectors at roadsides now administer a two part English evaluation. Translation applications and interpreter cards are forbidden. Drivers who fail get pulled off the road on the spot.
Congress enshrined the English proficiency enforcement in statute through a February 2026 appropriations bill, converting temporary executive action into lasting regulatory policy.
The enforcement drive went further than licenses and language examinations. FMCSA also initiated proceedings to strip approximately 3,000 CDL training schools of their federal accreditation for fabricating records and neglecting curriculum requirements.
Governor Gavin Newsom's office pushed back on the administration's framing, claiming the canceled licenses resulted from state regulatory technicalities that existed before the new federal standards rather than immigration violations. A federal appeals court issued a temporary hold on portions of the new restrictions following legal action. Skeptics also warned about deepening the already severe truck driver shortage and the resulting strain on supply chains from removing so many active commercial operators.
These enforcement measures offer a promising start toward securing American highways. Yet they merely touch the edges of the problem. Genuine progress demands stricter policies that bar foreign nationals from operating commercial vehicles on American roads entirely. Individuals arriving from foreign cultures frequently carry driving habits and customs incompatible with American standards, posing avoidable dangers to citizens. An America First approach to transportation requires comprehensive limits on foreign truckers behind the wheel.
