US tightens rules for noncitizen truck drivers after Florida crash

The Transportation Department on Friday unveiled tighter rules for non-U.S. citizens seeking commercial driver’s licenses in response to a deadly Florida crash linked to a driver who attempted an illegal U-turn. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an audit sparked by the incident found licensing flaws in several states and that the driver involved, Harjinder Singh, an India-born trucker who lived in California, should not have held a CDL given his immigration status. The Florida crash on the Turnpike left a minivan driver and two passengers dead; Singh and a passenger were not injured, and Singh faces charges including vehicular homicide and immigration violations. The audit named California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington as states with improper issuances and prompted the department to demand tighter verification and eligibility rules.

Under the new rules, noncitizen CDL applicants would be eligible only if they hold one of three visas: H-2A for agricultural workers, H-2B for nonagricultural temporary workers, or E-2 for investors. States must verify immigration status, and licenses would be valid for up to one year, or shorter if the visa expires sooner. Officials said about 200,000 noncitizens currently hold CDLs; only roughly 10,000 would qualify under the new framework. The rules are not retroactive, meaning those with current licenses would be allowed to operate until their licenses come up for renewal. States must pause issuing commercial licenses to noncitizens until they can comply with the new requirements, the department said. California has 30 days to audit its program and present a plan for compliance or risk losing federal funding. The administration also indicated that the rules would reinforce English-proficiency standards for truckers that were introduced this summer, a point of contention with California and other states.

The policy shift comes amid a broader political clash over immigration and federal regulation of worker programs. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has pressed for strict enforcement, while California Governor Gavin Newsom has pushed back, arguing that California’s licensing outcomes do not justify the sweeping federal changes. President Donald Trump and Duffy publicly criticized states they said were not enforcing federal requirements, though California has argued federal standards are misapplied and that its CDL holders’ crash rates are lower than the national average and lower than Texas’s, the state with the most licensed noncitizen CDLs.

The strict visa-based eligibility means licensing would be narrowed to drivers with either H-2A, H-2B or E-2 status. Duffy had previously floated broader English-language requirements and threatened to pull federal highway funds from California, Washington and New Mexico over concerns about enforcement, though California officials counter that the state’s licensing regime aligns with federal law.

The audit’s findings highlighted notable gaps in the licensing process. In California, investigators found that about one in four of the 145 noncitizen CDLs issued since June should not have been issued under the current rules. Officials said the problems were less pronounced in some other states, but still concerning enough to warrant immediate action. California now faces a 30-day clock to complete an internal audit and present a plan for compliance; failure to do so could jeopardize key federal funding for the state.

The move has generated debate about labor supply in trucking. Jonathan Marques, founder of the Driving Academy in Linden, New Jersey, said the potential removal of noncitizen drivers could push wages higher and entice more people to enter the industry, though he cautioned it could also complicate the delivery of goods. Current estimates place noncitizens among roughly 5% of all commercial drivers, with about 200,000 on the road today. If the policy stands, only a fraction of those workers would meet the visa requirements, which could drive changes in recruitment and compensation as fleets seek to maintain capacity.

Beyond Florida, Texas has faced a deadly 17-car pileup after a driver failed to brake, killing five, while an Alabama crash killed two after a driver struck four vehicles stopped at a red light. Officials say the Florida incident, the audit, and the broader licensing questions have intensified national discussions about immigration policy, workforce shortages, and how to balance national standards with state implementation.

In the immediate term, states are being asked to pause issuing CDLs to noncitizens and to complete compliance audits. The administration has indicated that the changes aim to prevent licenses from being issued to individuals who do not meet the visa requirements and to ensure that immigration status is verified at the point of license issuance. For now, existing licenses will remain valid until renewal, but the pool of eligible noncitizen drivers will shrink dramatically under the new framework. The trucking industry, which has long argued for streamlined and stable licensing processes to maintain supply, faces new pressure as regulators tighten eligibility criteria and states conduct reviews of their own CDL programs. As the federal government works to implement the rules, state agencies and trucking firms are expected to chart a path forward that balances safety, compliance and the ongoing need to move goods across the country.