The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is threatening to withhold millions in federal highway funds from California, New Mexico, and Washington, accusing the states of failing to enforce English-language proficiency standards for commercial truck drivers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the move Tuesday, linking the issue to the case of Harjinder Singh, an undocumented immigrant accused of killing three people in an Aug. 23 highway crash in Florida.
Singh, Duffy said, obtained a CDL in Washington and was later pulled over for speeding in New Mexico, but was not taken out of service despite an alleged inability to speak English.
“[Singh] no doubt could not speak the English language and could not understand road signs when he was operating that very deadly rig,” Duffy said in a news conference. “We all use the roadway, and we need to make sure that those who are driving big rigs can understand the road signs.”
DOT officials said the three states will have 30 days to comply with the federal rule or risk losing funds from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. California faces the potential loss of $33 million, Washington $10.5 million, and New Mexico $7 million.
Duffy cited inspection data showing California conducted about 34,000 inspections that revealed at least one violation since the rule took effect, yet only one driver was taken out of service.
Washington reported similar results, while New Mexico has not placed any drivers out of service for language deficiencies, he said.
Jesse Ellison, chief counsel for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said federal data from June 25 to Aug. 21 also showed California and Washington inspected drivers who had previously been cited in other states for failing English requirements but did not enforce earlier out-of-service orders.
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