On September 26, 2025, the U.S. Transportation Department took the rare step of issuing an emergency regulation that will drastically restrict the ability of non-U.S. citizens to obtain commercial driver licenses. This sweeping move, announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, follows a string of fatal crashes and a damning government audit that pointed to systemic failures in how states issue these licenses to immigrants.
The new rules are tough—some say draconian. Under the order, non-citizens can only secure a truck-driving license if they hold one of three specific employment-based visas: H-2a, H-2b, or E-2. Even then, applicants must pass a strict federal immigration status check, and the license will be valid for no more than a year, unless the visa expires sooner. Gone are the days when an employment authorization document alone would suffice.
The regulatory hammer came down after three deadly crashes this year, all involving immigrant truck drivers who, officials say, never should have been on the road in the first place. The catalyst was a particularly horrific accident on August 12, 2025, just north of West Palm Beach, Florida. According to the Associated Press, Harjinder Singh, an Indian national, made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike, blocking northbound lanes. A minivan slammed into the trailer, killing two passengers at the scene and the driver later at the hospital. Singh, who lived in California but was originally licensed in Washington, now faces three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. He’s scheduled for arraignment on September 29, and federal authorities have requested he be transferred to ICE custody after his criminal case wraps up.
But the Florida crash wasn’t an isolated event. In March, a Texas pileup involving a non-citizen truck driver with a history of traffic violations killed five people. In Alabama, a driver on just his third day of work failed a skills test for speeding—then barreled into four vehicles at a red light, killing two. As Duffy put it, “We have a government system designed to keep American families on the road safe. But that system has been compromised.” (Daijiworld Media Network)
California, the state with the second-highest number of commercial driver license holders, quickly found itself at the center of the storm. Duffy announced an enforcement action against the state, instructing it to pause issuing commercial licenses to non-citizens until it proves compliance with the new federal rules. The audit found that more than a quarter of the 145 licenses issued to non-citizens in California since June were improper—sometimes remaining valid years after the driver’s work permit expired.
“The combination of a catastrophic failure of states to follow the law and a broken system has created an imminent hazard to American travelers,” Duffy said, citing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit. The audit also uncovered improper licensing in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. States now have 30 days to audit their programs and present a compliance plan—or risk losing federal funding. For California, that means $160 million in highway funds in the first year alone, with the threat of that figure doubling if the state fails to act.
California officials, for their part, are pushing back hard. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom, dismissed Duffy’s threats and took a jab at his political background: “Former D-list reality star, now Secretary of Transportation, still doesn’t understand federal law. We’ll respond to today’s letter in due course. In the meantime, unlike this clown, we’ll stick to the facts: California commercial driver’s license holders had a fatal crash rate nearly 40% lower than the national average. Texas—the only state with more commercial holders—has a rate almost 50% higher than California. Facts don’t lie. The Trump administration does.”
This isn’t the first time Duffy has clashed with states over trucking regulations. Just last month, he threatened to withhold funding from California, Washington, and New Mexico for failing to enforce new English proficiency requirements for truckers. The Transportation Department is still reviewing those states’ responses.
Industry groups, meanwhile, have largely welcomed the crackdown. The American Trucking Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association have been calling for a federal audit since spring. “Rules only work when they are consistently enforced, and it’s imperative that all state driver licensing agencies comply with federal regulations,” said Chris Spear, President and CEO of the ATA. Todd Spencer, head of the independent drivers group, echoed that sentiment: “For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto America’s highways, creating unnecessary safety risks for professional drivers and the motoring public alike. These enforcement actions will also remove bad actors from the road and restore accountability to the system.” (Reuters)
The new rules, however, are not retroactive. Of the roughly 200,000 non-citizens who currently hold commercial driver licenses, only about 10,000 would qualify under the new regime. The remaining 190,000 will be allowed to keep their licenses—at least until renewal. That might sound like a big number, but Duffy argued that these licenses make up only about 5% of all commercial driver licenses nationwide. He downplayed concerns about a driver shortage, suggesting that removing non-citizen drivers could even force trucking companies to offer better wages for entry-level operators and attract more American job seekers. “It could make industry more attractive,” said Jonathan Marques, founder of the Driving Academy in Linden, New Jersey.
Yet the issue is far from settled. Critics warn that the new restrictions could worsen the ongoing truck driver shortage, which some groups estimate at up to 80,000 drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported in 2023 that about 16% of U.S. truck drivers were born outside the country. With the new rules, only those with the most specific—and hardest to obtain—employment visas will be eligible, a change that could ripple through supply chains and the broader economy.
For now, all states have been ordered to halt issuing commercial driver licenses to non-citizens until they can verify compliance with the new federal standards. The audit that triggered the crackdown has yet to be released publicly, but its impact is already being felt from Sacramento to Tallahassee.
As the legal and political wrangling continues, one thing is certain: the debate over who gets to drive America’s big rigs—and how safely they do it—has never been more intense, or more consequential, for the country’s highways and those who travel them.
