A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has ruled that recently announced Department of Transportation (DOT) restrictions on immigrants seeking commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) cannot be enforced.
The regulations were introduced in September after a truck driver — accused of being in the country illegally — was linked to a fatal tractor-trailer crash that killed three people in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Harjinder Singh, a citizen of India who authorities say crossed into the U.S. from Mexico in 2018, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter. Prosecutors allege he jackknifed his truck during an unlawful U-turn, causing a van to collide with the trailer.
The court determined that the federal government failed to follow required procedures when crafting the policy and did not adequately justify how the restrictions would improve public safety.
According to judges reviewing the case, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statistics indicate that immigrants hold roughly 5% of U.S. CDLs but are involved in only about 0.2% of fatal crashes.
Officials said Singh was licensed in California, yet he repeatedly failed CDL knowledge exams in Washington state — including 10 failed general-knowledge tests and two failed air-brake exams — as well as an English proficiency test. A California audit also found that some immigrant drivers retained valid CDLs even after their work authorization had expired, leading to 17,000 license revocations.
Under the now-blocked DOT rules, only immigrants with certain visa types would have been allowed to obtain commercial licenses valid for one year, with immigration status verified through a federal database. While the rules could have disqualified around 10,000 of the estimated 200,000 immigrant commercial drivers, currently licensed individuals would have kept their CDLs until they expired.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), representing more than 150,000 drivers, had expressed support for the administration’s efforts to tighten licensing safety requirements. OOIDA president Todd Spencer argued that visa program misuse and the growth of non-domiciled CDL holders have put unsafe drivers on U.S. highways, while also suggesting the changes would not significantly impact the supply chain.
Meanwhile, transportation officials have pressured California to enforce English-language testing. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced in October that the administration is withholding $40 million in federal funding from the state over its refusal to comply. To restore the funds, California must ensure roadside inspectors evaluate drivers’ English skills and remove those who fail.
