WASHINGTON — On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the government will put an immediate pause on work visas for commercial drivers.
“Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio said. “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.”
The pause comes amidst outrage over a fatal accident in Florida that killed three people. The undocumented commercial driver accused of the crime, Harjinder Singh, reportedly could not pass the English Language Proficiency tests when asked to do so after the deadly crash.
American Trucking Associations
“ATA supports pausing work visas for commercial drivers and believes the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs needs serious scrutiny, including the enforcement of entry-level driver training standards,” said Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO. “At a minimum, we need better accounting of how many non-domiciled CDLs are being issued, which is why we applaud Transportation Secretary Duffy for launching a nationwide audit in June upon our request. We also believe a surge in enforcement of key regulations — including motor carrier compliance — is necessary to prevent bad actors from operating on our nation’s highways, and we’ll continue to partner with federal and state authorities to identify where those gaps in enforcement exist.”
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
“OOIDA applauds the Administration for seeing through the myth of a truck driver shortage and continuing efforts to restore commonsense safety standards on our nation’s highways,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president. “Pausing visas for commercial truck drivers will help ensure only qualified individuals get licensed. Additionally, there is unlikely to be any negative effect on the supply chain, as the trucking industry continues to face overcapacity. The misuse of visa programs along with the rise of non-domiciled CDL holders in recent years has fueled a flood of drivers into our country who struggle to operate safely in full compliance with regulations. Earlier this week, OOIDA called on U.S. DOT and states to immediately suspend non-domiciled CDL programs. We are working with the Administration and Congress on implementing more comprehensive licensing and training standards that will prevent unsafe drivers from ever getting behind the wheel.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
