California is revoking commercial driver’s licenses for roughly 17,000 foreign nationals, many of whom are illegal immigrants, following pressure from the Trump Administration.
The action comes after multiple fatal semi-truck accidents involving unqualified foreign drivers, including one in Florida in August that killed several people.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tried to frame the revocations as enforcement of existing state law, claiming, “The drivers in question violated regulations that were already on the books.” But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said otherwise.
“California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue impacting you and your family on America’s roads,” Duffy posted on social media. “The Golden State thinks it’s OK to ignore @USDOT English language requirements for truckers. You can play all the games you want, but not at the expense of American lives.”
Duffy highlighted one recent case: Harjinder Singh, 28, illegally entered the U.S. from India six years ago and received a California commercial driver’s license.
Singh now faces three counts of vehicular homicide and up to 45 years in prison after performing an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, triggering a catastrophic crash captured on his truck’s dashcam, as Trending Politics reported.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that all employment visas for truck drivers are now paused.
“Effective immediately we are halting all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio posted on X. “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”
Duffy emphasized that the license revocations were an admission by California that its previous standards were improper.
“After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked,” Duffy said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses.”
Newsom pushed back, insisting the drivers had valid federal work authorizations.
“Once again, the Sean ‘Road Rules’ Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader,” said a spokesperson for the governor.
In September, Duffy instituted stricter rules for commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants, reducing the eligible visa types to three: H-2a, H-2 B, and E-2. Only 10,000 of the 200,000 noncitizen license holders currently qualify under these new requirements, which are designed to prevent unqualified foreigners from driving large vehicles.
The revocation of licenses marks a significant victory for the Trump administration’s push to protect American roads and ensure that only qualified drivers operate large commercial vehicles. Officials warn the crackdown is just the beginning of broader enforcement nationwide.
