The Trump administration’s restrictions on commercial driver licenses for foreign nationals are surviving legal challenges from activist groups despite widespread resistance.
Federal appeals courts have rejected attempts by unions and immigrant advocacy organizations to block the rules, which limit CDLs for non-U.S.-domiciled drivers and require stricter vetting of foreign truckers.
“We will only issue a visa if the applicant demonstrates the necessary skills, experience, and English language proficiency required to safely operate these vehicles in the United States. We will not compromise on Americans’ safety.”
The crackdown follows several fatal crashes involving unauthorized foreign drivers. In October, police arrested a 21-year-old Indian semi-truck driver for allegedly killing three people and hospitalizing four others in a highway accident. The Biden-Harris administration released him into the U.S. after he illegally entered in 2022.
The Department of Transportation released interim rules in September and final rules in February severely limiting CDLs for people not domiciled in the U.S. The restrictions came after Trump’s April executive order demanding stricter CDL screenings for road safety.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued 20,000 English Language Proficiency violations since June 2025 and forced states to cancel 28,000 illegally issued licenses through a nationwide audit, according to agency statements.
The Trump Admin will continue to strictly enforce laws to keep America’s highways safe. No one will be allowed behind the wheel of any commercial vehicle—unless they are in this country legally, properly trained, and proficient in ENGLISH.
American lives depend on it. pic.twitter.com/KKB9hFMFpb
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 12, 2025
Government worker and teachers unions, the AFL-CIO and individual drivers challenged the federal CDL restrictions in an October lawsuit led by Public Citizen. They argued the DOT did not establish a public safety threat tied to immigration and skipped proper public disclosure procedure.
Public Citizen has received more than $4 million from Tides Foundation and George Soros’ Open Society Policy Center since 2018, tax filings show.
Washington’s federal appeals court declined to strike down the rule in May. Claims that the immigration-based restrictions are “arbitrary” are unlikely to succeed, the court wrote.
“Rather than branding foreign drivers as uniquely dangerous, the [DOT] seeks instead to ensure that their vetting is no less rigorous than that of drivers domiciled in the United States,” the ruling says. “Such an overall approach is unlikely to be condemned as arbitrary.”
The Chinese American Truckers Association argued in a January lawsuit that the DOT’s rule harms “otherwise-qualified commercial drivers” without providing reasonable pathways to obtain CDLs. Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal ruled days later that “the public interest plainly and substantially weighs against” the group’s demands. Both sides agreed to dismiss the case that month.
Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.
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.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 21, 2025
Trump’s revamped vetting policies for foreign CDL applicants now involve the DOT, Labor Department, DHS and the State Department as of December. The State Department is applying strict standards to every visa applicant seeking to operate a commercial truck in the U.S., including English language skills, a valid U.S.-issued or U.S.-recognized CDL, and a prior history of safe commercial truck operation.
Immigration agents have arrested 338 illegal migrant truck drivers and CDL holders in Indiana, California and Oklahoma from October to December, according to DHS press releases.
