Texas, long known for its sprawling highways and central role in the American trucking industry, now finds itself at the epicenter of a heated national debate over English proficiency among commercial truck drivers. According to a report published by American Truckers United (ATU) and highlighted by Breitbart Texas on September 1, 2025, the Lone Star State leads the nation by a significant margin in the number of commercial driver’s license holders receiving "out of service" (OOS) orders due to insufficient English skills.
ATU’s data, posted to X on August 29, paints a stark picture: nearly 800 Texas-based truck drivers were sidelined for failing English proficiency checks over the past ten weeks. For comparison, Illinois—second on the list—saw fewer than 350 such cases, and California trailed with fewer than 250. The numbers have set off alarm bells among industry leaders, regulators, and the public, especially as Texas’s approach to enforcement diverges sharply from other states.
At the heart of the controversy is a decades-old loophole in the Texas Transportation Code. As of May 20, 2025, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commercial Vehicle Enforcement clarified that English proficiency requirements apply only to drivers engaged in interstate commerce. Truckers who operate solely within Texas’s borders—so-called intrastate drivers—are exempt from these federal mandates, a policy originally designed to help the state’s logging and rock-hauling industries fill short-haul positions during labor shortages, as reported by WFAA.
This exemption has become a flashpoint. On August 30, ATU posted, “Texas is largely responsible for the truck drivers that don’t speak English on America’s roadways. They are predominately originating from the state of Texas. Texas is admittedly not enforcing the ELP violation for what they call Intrastate loads. It appears they also aren’t enforcing interstate loads because the other states are popping them.”
Industry voices have weighed in. John D. Esparza, President and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association, acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating, “Any changes to intrastate laws are in the purview of Texas lawmakers and would require Texas laws to change.” Esparza’s position underscores the complex interplay between federal directives and state autonomy, a tension that has only intensified with the recent executive order from former President Donald Trump.
That order, issued in May 2025, mandates that commercial truck drivers be proficient in reading and speaking English. According to a White House document cited by Breitbart, “President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English.”
Governor Greg Abbott’s office has responded to mounting scrutiny. On September 2, his spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told Breitbart Texas, “Governor Abbott expects trucking companies in Texas to fully comply with President Trump’s Executive Order. Public safety is priority #1, and we must ensure that truckers are able to navigate Texas roadways safely and efficiently.” Yet, despite this firm rhetoric, it remains unclear how the governor intends to enforce compliance, particularly for intrastate drivers who are currently exempt under state policy.
Internal communications from the Texas DPS add another layer of complexity. Major Omar Villarreal instructed commercial vehicle inspectors that English proficiency violations and OOS orders “will only apply to motor carriers engaged in interstate operations.” This means that, for now, drivers operating solely within Texas are largely shielded from federal scrutiny—unless and until state lawmakers intervene.
Legal experts say the ball is in the legislature’s court. Trucking attorney Lin McCraw told WFAA, “It would require a legislative change, but it’s absolutely something they can do.” The Texas Legislature is currently nearing the end of its second special session, and while the governor could call a third, it is uncertain whether English proficiency enforcement would make the agenda.
The stakes are not merely bureaucratic. Two recent fatal crashes involving foreign commercial driver’s license holders have thrust the issue into the public spotlight. In June 2025, a Cuban migrant, Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni, was charged with five counts of manslaughter after allegedly falling asleep at the wheel and causing a deadly pileup on Interstate 20 near Wills Point, Texas. While some, like Sara Fields, claimed the driver did not speak English, police investigations did not substantiate this assertion.
Another tragic incident near Austin involved Solomun Weldekeal-Araya, who was charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter. According to Fox 7 Austin, the driver spoke mostly Tigrinya, a language native to Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, but also understood and spoke some English. The police affidavit did not clarify whether an English proficiency test was administered.
The dangers of insufficient English skills are not limited to Texas. A recent crash in Florida involving Harjinder Singh, a semi-truck driver, ended in three fatalities. Investigators found that Singh failed an English-language proficiency test, correctly answering only two of twelve verbal questions and identifying just one out of four highway traffic signs. Singh held commercial driver’s licenses from both Washington and California, raising questions about the rigor and consistency of licensing standards across states. Florida officials described him as an “illegal alien from California,” according to Breitbart.
For advocacy groups like American Truckers United, the problem extends beyond safety. Spokesman Shannon Everett told Breitbart Texas, “The trucking industry in Texas is prioritizing cheap labor by favoring non-citizens over American citizens, compromising safety nationwide. What starts as a Texas issue becomes a national crisis when drivers from these companies—failing English proficiency standards—are exported across America, demanding urgent intervention.”
ATU has called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to go further, urging a ban on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses for non-citizens and restricting foreign drivers to trade zones. “Your leadership is vital to ensuring safer commercial motor vehicle operations and equitable opportunities for American truck drivers,” Everett wrote. “These practices enable unauthorized domestic freight hauling, displace American workers through unfair wage competition, and pose significant safety and security risks due to inadequate driver vetting.”
As the debate rages, California’s approach offers a notable contrast. There, officers are reportedly more lenient with drivers lacking English skills. Still, the state remains third in the nation for OOS orders due to failed English proficiency, suggesting that even leniency has its limits.
With the Texas Legislature’s current session winding down and the governor’s next move uncertain, the question of how—and whether—Texas will address its English proficiency exemption remains unresolved. What is clear, however, is that the issue has transcended state lines, igniting a national conversation about public safety, labor practices, and the responsibilities of America’s trucking industry.
For now, truckers, lawmakers, and the public alike are left waiting to see if Texas will close its loophole, or if the road ahead will remain as bumpy as ever.