Thousands of foreign truck drivers have already lost, or are about to lose, their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) amid a nationwide effort to enforce new federal rules.
“My response is absolutely we can handle it because [unqualified foreign drivers] shouldn’t be on the road to begin with,” John Esparza, president and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association, told The Epoch Times.
“We are in the process of cleaning it out.”
A rise in truck-related deaths involving foreign drivers led the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to launch a broad audit in June to identify which states had issued licenses incorrectly.
This followed other Department of Transportation (DOT) actions such as requiring English proficiency for truck drivers.
The DOT said the 17,000 drivers have been notified that “their license no longer meets federal requirements and will expire in 60 days.”
Meanwhile, Texas is actively reviewing thousands of commercial licenses and suspending those that fail to meet the latest requirements.
In September, Texas halted the issuance of non-domicile licenses in response to the FMCSA’s findings.
His organization supports the crackdown on improperly licensed foreign drivers “100 percent,” he said.
“We continue to support the administration and what they’ve been doing the last several months, their goals, because it will just make our highways safer and ultimately save lives,” Esparza said.
Each day in Texas, trucks travel along 323,364 miles of public roads and move more than 2.2 million tons of freight, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.
Recent crashes highlight the growing problem.
State authorities said the man, Juan Hernandez-Santos, did not possess a CDL.
He was wanted by the Florida Highway Patrol for allegedly operating a semitruck that attempted to make a U-turn, crossing directly in front of another vehicle.
‘It’s Common Sense’
Albert Cardona has spent nearly half his life driving a semitruck in California.In that time, he has seen many road accidents that could have been avoided if drivers had used better judgment.
He said he hopes that California’s decision to revoke 17,000 truck driving licenses issued illegally to foreign drivers will make the roads safer.
“The main thing is, why are they having a lot of accidents?“ Cardona told The Epoch Times as he filled up his semi at the Flying J truck stop in Phoenix. ”It’s because they don’t care.”
“I never go past 70 mph,“ he said. ”I’m always checking the road.”
Cardona, 50, said he began driving trucks in his early 30s after getting the proper training and a CDL.
He said that even though there are more foreign truck drivers now—some legally licensed, some not—everyone should understand the universal road signs and follow safe driving rules.
“It’s common sense,” he said.
He also said he believes that there are enough local truck drivers to fill the 17,000 positions left by foreign drivers and that there is still plenty of work to go around.
“Now, we’re getting calls like never before,“ Cardona said. ”Before, I had to make calls and say I needed the work. Now, they call me.”
Esparza said the main issue is companies attempting to cut costs by hiring drivers without the properly attained licenses. This practice affects road safety and lowers wages for all truckers.
“If there are no penalties or consequences for a shipper looking for the lowest cost to move freight, you’re going to find a steady stream of people unlawfully,” Esparza said.
“These individuals are causing accidents.”
Working in the trucking industry, moreover, requires constant training, according to him.
“It’s not simply driving a truck,“ Esparza said. ”It’s got so many facets working in concert to keep our highways safe.”
Esparza said the answer is to remove these drivers from the workforce and let qualified license holders take their place.
“When you’re talking about a driver shortage, there are thousands of drivers that aren’t qualified who obtained a CDL, who can’t speak English, and can’t handle the equipment,” Esparza said.
No Immediate Impact
Port of Los Angeles Director Gene Seroka said it is unclear how the 17,000 revoked truck driver licenses will affect the port’s operations in the long term.“It’s not going to have an immediate impact on what we see as commercial viability for our port or over-the-road transportation requirements from our mutual customers,” he said.
“We will continue to watch this very closely as policy evolves.”
The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest in the country, moving more than 10 million shipping containers in 2024.
Seroka said there are almost 20,000 licensed drivers at the port every day, half of whom are there at least once per week for duties.
She asked how the state allowed 17,000 CDLs to be issued to foreign drivers who were in the country illegally.
‘CDL Mills’
Esparza said many unqualified and foreign drivers received their licenses from so-called CDL mills, truck driver training schools known for bypassing regulations and issuing licenses with minimal instruction.
The registry lists all providers authorized to offer federally required entry-level driver training for CDL students.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA), the country’s leading voice for truckers, hailed the removal of 3,000 CDL training providers and the warning issued to 4,000 more.
“The Trump administration has sent the right message: if you’re running a CDL Mill or if you’re issuing certificates to anyone who can fog a mirror, you’re on notice.”
Spear emphasized that the organization has long pushed for tougher oversight and real accountability to root out fraudulent or subpar CDL training providers that put public safety and trust at risk.
The ATA welcomed the administration’s move to completely revamp the vetting process for electronic logging devices used by truckers, a step that will help keep noncompliant devices off the FMCSA’s registry, Spear said.
The DOT warned that this is the first step in FMCSA’s review of the 16,000 training providers on the registry to identify and remove those not in compliance with federal rules.
