Lawmaker pushes for ICE coordination in CDL crackdowns

“I think Oklahoma’s the model example for when state and local law enforcement work with ICE, there’s not chaos and uproar,” he said.

“Oklahoma in 2025 ranked in the top three [states] for illegal criminal aliens removed from the country. You don’t see all the chaos, and it’s due to cooperation. So for the safety of the motoring public on the CMV [commercial motor vehicle] issue … cooperation with ICE is critical and can be done in a calm, legitimate legal way.”

Lacking data

Justification for holding the hearing at all was questioned from the start. The subcommittee’s ranking member, Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., asserted that the committee had no jurisdiction over transportation safety.  

“I want it on record that this hearing is really about nothing more than scapegoating immigrants for the President’s economy, which is running off the road,” Thanedar said before the witnesses were introduced.

Thanedar brought to the panel Wendy Liu, an attorney for Public Citizen Litigation Group, as a witness to help make his case.

“The CDL licensing standards are identical for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and documented immigrants alike regardless of citizenship or immigration status – all drivers must demonstrate English language proficiency, 30 different vehicle inspection control and driving skills, and demonstrate their knowledge in 20 different areas,” Liu said.

Liu argued that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new non-domiciled CDL restrictions that goes into effect this month will make the roads less safe, not more safe, because the estimated 200,000 drivers forced out of the market would be replaced, at least initially, by less experienced drivers.

Liu, who is representing a driver suing FMCSA in federal appeals court, also contended that the Trump administration has failed to provide data showing that non-citizens cause more crashes than U.S. citizens.

“If the concern is that states are improperly issuing licenses to people who do not in fact already meet the existing requirements about training, English, testing – then the solution is to tighten steps to make sure that licenses are going to people who satisfy all of the requirements.

“But excluding documented immigrants from being truck drivers altogether would harm highway safety, destroy the livelihood of thousands, increase costs during an affordability crisis, and disrupt essential public services.”

Related articles:

• Dalilah Law could create a trucking rate super cycle
• FMCSA issues mandatory non-domiciled CDL directives
• FMCSA defends foreign driver restrictions despite multi-state backlash
• Feds to axe multi-language testing for truckers
• ELP crackdown exposes how cheap labor, CDL fraud are remaking trucking

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.