Federal and State Programs Enabling Highway Disasters

Breaking Down the Government Programs That Create Deadly Pathways to CDL Licensing

Before diving into specific immigration-related crash cases, we need to understand and fully comprehend the web of federal and state programs that create pathways for undocumented drivers to obtain commercial driver's licenses. These programs, created under the guise of humanitarian aid, have undermined highway safety through agenda-driven policy initiatives, regulatory loopholes, inadequate oversight, and dangerous coordination failures between agencies.

Whether you call this an ELP issue or an immigration issue or whatever, essentially, all of this is a licensing standards issue at the root.

Breaking August 26, 2025, changes

Federal Crackdown Exposes Systematic State Violations

In a breaking development yesterday, the Trump administration and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced they will start holding Washington, California, and New Mexico to the fire for failing to enforce federal English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements for commercial drivers. This enforcement action comes as new FMCSA data, released by Trucksafe, reveals the scope of the compliance crisis. Texas leads all states with 5,378 ELP violations this month, followed by Pennsylvania with 1,454 and Arizona with 170 violations.

The July data from Trucksafe Consulting (available monthly) shows 4,448 total ELP violations year-to-date, representing a 13% increase since June and following a staggering 161% increase from May. While Texas tops the violation list despite having a state law that explicitly prohibits enforcement from questioning intrastate drivers about their English proficiency, suggesting that enforcement officers are conducting ELP assessments regardless of state law restrictions.

These violations are systematic failures in commercial driver licensing that extend beyond foreign drivers. While immigrant pathways create significant safety risks, the core issue remains fundamentally about licensing standards and enforcement gaps that affect driver qualification regardless of national origin. In other words, we have a problem here with nationality, but we also have unqualified English-speaking truck drivers who should not be driving trucks.

Federal Programs Creating CDL Pathways

The H-2B Visa CDL Pipeline

The H-2B temporary worker program allows US employers to hire foreign nationals for temporary, non-agricultural work, with a cap of 66,000 visas per year. DHS has authorized an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for 2025, nearly doubling the available positions.

Federal regs allow foreign drivers with employment authorization documents to obtain non-domiciled CDLs to operate commercial vehicles in the United States. H-2B visa holders can work as truck drivers, though they must be at least 18 years old and pass CDL testing.

For 2024, 1,000 H-2B visas were allocated to truck drivers, with Transport Leasing Company leading with 163 visas, followed by Sugarland Ag with 95 visas. For the first half of FY 2025, more than 400 H-2B visas have been allocated to transportation and material moving occupations.

Federal policy reserved 20,000 visas for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, creating concentrated pathways for specific immigrant communities.

Federal Work Authorization Contradictions

The Harjinder Singh Florida case exemplifies how work authorization policies create dangerous contradictions. Singh's work authorization was initially denied under the Trump administration but was approved under the Biden administration, thereby opening his pathway to multiple state CDL programs.

Federal law allows individuals with a valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to obtain non-domiciled CDLs, even without permanent resident status. This creates a secondary pathway for asylum seekers and other temporary status holders.

California's AB 60 Program - The National Model

So who sponsored this program? Where did it originate? Glad you asked..

The primary sponsor was Assembly Member Luis Alejo, who authored AB 60 in 2013, with initial co-author Assembly Member Das Williams. The bill gained momentum in terms of co-sponsorship, adding Assembly Members Garcia, Roger Hernández, Mullin, V. Manuel Pérez, Rendon, and Williams, as well as Senators Cannella, Correa, De León, Lara, and Padilla. The bill was initially introduced on January 7, 2013, by Alejo, with Multiple amendments through May-September 2013. On September 12, 2013, it passed both the Assembly and the Senate and was approved on October 3, 2013, by Governor Jerry Brown.

While not mentioned in AB 60's history, the bill's timing coincided with growing concerns about a driver shortage narrative. The DMV's recommendation was actually to impound the cars of unlicensed drivers to get them off the road, not to issue licenses to them.

Since the law took effect in 2015, more than a million undocumented immigrants out of an estimated 2 million have received licenses, with over 605,000 licenses issued in the first year alone. 396,859 immigrants applied for AB 60 licenses in fiscal 2014-15, though applications dropped to 68,426 by fiscal year 2022. Undocumented immigrants in California contribute $3.1 billion a year in state and local taxes; nationally, they contribute $11.7 billion in taxes.

The CDL Loophole Exploitation

AB 60 analysis knew that federal regs "require that an individual provide a social security number to obtain a commercial driver's license." The analysis warned that "Failure to comply with federal regulations could put California at risk of losing federal highway funds and being rendered ineligible for federal grant funding." California's Transportation Committee specifically recommended "amending the bill to specify that it does not apply to commercial driver's licenses" due to federal compliance requirements.

Despite the warnings, California implemented a way that would allow AB 60 holders to obtain Commercial Learner's Permits (CLP), which, when combined with work authorization documents, creates a backdoor to CDL licensing. Once a person receives an AB 60 license, California DMV policy allows them to "apply for a Commercial Learner's Permit (CLP), but must have a CA driver's license before getting a CLP".

California then began issuing "limited-term/non-domiciled CDLs" to individuals with work authorization, creating the exact pathway that enabled the Singh case. This directly violated the legislative committee's recommendation and the federal prohibition acknowledged during AB 60's passage.

Non-Domiciled CDL Programs - The State Licensing Loophole

Federal regs allow states to issue CDLs to individuals not domiciled within their jurisdiction, with "Non-domiciled" prominently displayed on the license. This applies to individuals domiciled in foreign countries (excluding Mexico and Canada) or in another state where that state is prohibited from issuing CDLs. Applicants must be residents of countries whose licensing standards don't meet US testing standards, surrender any previous driver's licenses, and present valid passports and Social Security Numbers.

Non-domiciled CDLs are not eligible for hazardous material endorsements, and only regular CDL holders can legally transport hazardous materials.

State Implementation Variations

Texas explicitly allows non-domiciled CDLs for individuals with DACA status, provided they have never held a commercial driver's license and meet all CDL requirements. Canadian and Mexican citizens are explicitly prohibited from obtaining non-domiciled CDLs.

The Singh case revealed Washington state's systematic violation of federal law by issuing regular full-term CDLs to asylum seekers, who are only eligible for non-domiciled licenses under federal regulations.

Minnesota's Refugee-to-CDL Pipeline

Commercial Driver Academy Program

When Governor Tim Walz signed the Driver's License for All, Regardless of Immigration Status bill in 2023, MN joined 18 states in providing state IDs and driver's licenses to all residents, benefiting 81,000 undocumented individuals. It really is a “Here's your sign moment.” Minnesota has had only 18 ELP violations, according to the July ELP data.

Minnesota State's Commercial Driver Academy is a multi-campus collaboration between Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Saint Paul College, and Dakota County Technical College. The program employs 34,540 workers in Minnesota's trucking industry, with a growth rate of 6.6 percent and a projected need for 47,962 new drivers between 2018 and 2028. (Again with the driver shortage narrative. Just making sure you're keeping track.)

The MN program meets Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements and is registered on the FMCSA's training provider registry. Keep in mind the ELDT is a part of the problem. While it has a standard curriculum, there is no minimum time requirement to complete the modules.

The Commercial Driver Academy partners with multiple community-based organizations, including Ujamaa Place, CLUES, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, and Teamsters. The veterans initiative is excellent, but the Teamsters' part of this had me scratching my head. I thought we were here to secure American jobs and labor. Maybe in the end, it’s more about attracting people who are more agreeable to paying a fee to your Union to represent them and maintain your membership numbers. That's just pure speculation on that one.

So, What's with The Somali Community in MN? Glad you asked.

Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States, with most residing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Between 2001 and 2023, more than 111,000 Somali refugees arrived in the United States, with Minnesota and New York receiving the largest numbers. Minnesota gets large numbers of secondary refugee arrivals, with 3,740 secondary arrivals between 2010 and 2016; however, the actual number is likely higher due to unreported relocations.

DEED Grant Funding

Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) works with businesses, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to train or retrain workers. The Commercial Driver Academy references DEED Occupations in Demand data and collaborates with CareerForce representatives on funding, including assistance under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA helps pay for training to give workers the skills needed to compete in the new economy, creating pathways for refugee and immigrant communities to access commercial driving training.

The Asylum Seeker System Failure

Immigration Court Backlogs

Asylum processing struggles and the level of that struggle depend on location, with Miami's high volume contributing to longer processing times and backlogs. Legal professionals in high-demand jurisdictions battle with long delays and develop contingencies to work around systemic delays. The Singh case is a textbook example of how asylum seekers can remain in the country for years while their cases are pending. While they wait, they can exploit state licensing loopholes to obtain CDLs despite federal prohibitions.

State Integration Programs

As you may have noticed earlier, we previously discussed Minnesota's refugee resettlement partnerships with organizations such as Ujamaa Place and CLUES, which facilitate integration, including employment training that can lead to CDL acquisition. AB 60 programs accept various documents as proof of residency, including utility bills and shelter letters, which can lead to document fraud.

Federal Funding Contradictions

WIOA Program Exploitation

WIOA funding explicitly helps individuals learn skills needed to compete in the economy. Still, it lacks safeguards to prevent funding CDL training for individuals who may be legally prohibited from holding CDLs. Multiple federal and state programs can fund the same training, with insufficient coordination between agencies to prevent reg violations.

DOT Grant Programs

The FY 2025 Commercial Driver's License Program Implementation Grant provides federal funding for CDL programs, but lacks effective screening programs in place to ensure compliance with immigration restrictions.

Minnesota's Department of Transportation sponsors free pre-apprenticeship training programs for minorities, women, and disadvantaged individuals, including commercial truck driver training with CDL Class A instruction.

Regulatory Enforcement Failures

Federal regulations now require English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments, but enforcement remains inconsistent. The Singh case revealed New Mexico State Police failed to conduct required ELP testing during a July 2025 traffic stop. English proficiency enforcement was killed about 13 years ago and only recently re-emphasized under the current administration, creating a generation of drivers who obtained licenses without real language screening.

Database Integration Failures and Systematic Workarounds

Federal verification systems, designed to prevent improper licensing, fail to communicate effectively between agencies. The Singh case showcased this failure. Washington state issued a regular CDL to an asylum seeker despite federal prohibitions, while the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) system failed to prevent the violation.

While states must check databases including CDLIS (Commercial Driver's License Information System) and National Driver Registry, coordination between immigration databases and state licensing systems remains broken. Singh held a CDL from both Washington and California, violating federal single-license requirements. Proper driver screening by White Hawk would have recognized this during qualification.

The Singh case revealed enforcement failures across multiple jurisdictions:

• Washington State: Improperly issued a regular full-term CDL despite federal law prohibiting asylum seekers from receiving this license type

• California: Issued a limited-term/non-domiciled CDL potentially in violation of federal regulations

• New Mexico: Failed to conduct a mandatory ELP assessment during the July 2025 traffic stop

Industry pressure claiming a severe driver shortage has been used to justify relaxed licensing standards and enforcement gaps. Current truck driving employment stands at approximately 3.55 million drivers, with the "shortage" narrative often serving to justify lowered barriers rather than addressing underlying working conditions and compensation issues.

Is there a shortage? No. Not of general dock bumping, but rather automatic truck drivers who simply need to hold the wheel and follow the GPS. We’ve removed significant barriers that previously kept potential drivers out. Drivers often talk about whether they drive manual or are restricted to automatics, but they're still a driver. True, but are you a commoditized driver in demand because there's a shortage? No. Anyone can hijack your truck and drive it in an automatic transmission—same idea. The narrative of a driver shortage was started and then the barriers to entry were reduced to allow prospects to enter the industry virtually without the requirement actually to be able to drive a truck. In 2005, less than 5% of class 8 trucks were automatic. Today? Over 95% of OEM Class 8 trucks are equipped with automatic transmissions. Your mom could drive one.

The shortage only exists for in-demand drivers who operate labor-intensive jobs that require some mental dexterity, such as OOG, Specialized, Flatbed, Hazmat, and vocational roles where driving is a secondary role to a primary role of vocational welder or diesel service tech.

The Systemic Pattern of Regulatory Capture

These programs create a dangerous cascade of regulatory failures enabled by political considerations overriding safety requirements:

The Legislative-Industry Complex

• Legislators like Luis Alejo championed immigrant licensing programs despite explicit federal warnings about the risks of CDL compliance.

• The "driver shortage" narrative created political cover for lowering safety barriers.

• Tax revenue arguments ($3.1 billion in California alone) provided financial incentives to ignore safety concerns.

The Federal Funding Contradiction

• MCSAP Enforcement Void. States receive hundreds of millions in federal enforcement funding while deliberately violating federal safety requirements.

• Regulatory Arbitrage. States exploit federal agencies' reluctance to enforce funding conditions, creating a race to the bottom in safety standards.

• Interstate Commerce Impact. Intrastate-only restrictions become meaningless when drivers cross state lines or when loads originate/terminate in other states.

The Enforcement Cascade Failure

• Database Integration Failures. SAVE, CDLIS, and state systems fail to communicate, enabling regulatory violations.

• Multi-Jurisdictional Gaps. Drivers like Singh exploit differences between states' enforcement standards.

• Federal Agency Coordination. FMCSA, ICE, and state agencies fail to coordinate on licensing violations.

The result is a system where individuals explicitly prohibited from holding CDLs under federal law can obtain them through carefully constructed state program pathways, operate commercial vehicles for years without detection, and ultimately cause preventable fatal crashes.

We have to realize these people don’t find and exploit these loopholes on their own. These programs and unethical carriers and co-drivers are aiding these prospect drivers in exploiting these loopholes and programs.

The MCSAP Funding Hypocrisy

The most egregious failure is the continued flow of federal enforcement funding to states that openly defy federal safety requirements. Texas alone receives millions in MCSAP funding annually while maintaining laws that directly contradict federal safety regulations. This creates a perverse incentive structure where states benefit financially from federal programs while undermining their safety objectives.

While receiving MCSAP funding, under Texas Transportation Code 522.043(b), the state prohibits requiring English language proficiency for intrastate-only CDL holders. The Texas Administrative Code and the official Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Handbook support this stance, noting that ELP only applies to interstate drivers. This enforcement discretion violates the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MC-SAP), which provides states with funding for enforcement in exchange for aligning with FMCSA safety regulations.

49 CFR 350.305 outlines the limited list of allowable state-level variances. English proficiency isn’t one of them. So, unless Texas has formally petitioned FMCSA for a variance, and DPS leadership confirms the state hasn’t. Texas’s refusal to enforce this could jeopardize MCSAP funding.

The Trump Era. The Trump Administration Emergency Visa Pause of August 2025

On August 21, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an immediate pause to all worker visa issuance for commercial truck drivers, marking the first time in decades the federal government has taken emergency action to address foreign driver safety concerns on American highways.

"The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers," Rubio declared via social media, implementing the pause effective immediately.

Scope of the Visa Suspension

Affected Classifications: The pause applies to three primary visa categories used by foreign truck drivers:

• H-2B visas: Temporary worker permits that had been expanded to over 130,000 annually

• E-2 visas: Treaty investor visas are sometimes used by foreign trucking operations

• EB-3 visas: Employment-based permanent residence applications for drivers

B-1/B-2 business visitor visas for Canadian-based drivers delivering international freight remain unaffected, though the State Department emphasized stricter English proficiency requirements during visa interviews.

Industry and Regulatory Response

While I expected overwhelming industry support, especially from the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) I have to say I found American Trucking Associations (ATA) support for the initiative ironic, as much of this issue has been driven by a breakdown in barriers to the industry due to a driver shortage narrative pushed by the ATA. ATA President Chris Spear added: "We applaud this decisive action and urge the administration to extend similar scrutiny to non-domiciled CDL programs." I’m sorry, but as a member of the 93% of mom-and-pop fleet owners and drivers in the industry, I find that deeply ironic.

The Non-Domiciled CDL Crisis

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy initiated a comprehensive audit of non-domiciled CDL issuance practices following the Florida Turnpike tragedy. This review targets explicitly the licensing pathway that enabled multiple fatal crashes by inadequately screened foreign drivers.

OOIDA called for the immediate suspension of all non-domiciled CDL programs, documenting critical safety gaps:

• US citizens must provide 10 years of driving history from all licensed jurisdictions

• Employers must obtain three years of driving records before hiring U.S. drivers

• Foreign applicants face no requirement for states or employers to obtain records from their home countries

• This creates a two-tiered safety system where foreign drivers face lower screening standards than American drivers

Broader Immigration Enforcement Integration

The truck driver pause is part of a larger immigration enforcement sweep reviewing more than 55 million existing US visa holders for potential deportable infractions.

Federal agencies are implementing stricter enforcement of English Language Proficiency requirements, including:

• Enhanced visa interview language testing

• Mandatory roadside ELP assessments

• Out-of-service orders for drivers failing language proficiency standards

The administration is addressing illegal domestic freight operations by B-1 visa holders who enter legally for international transport but then conduct prohibited domestic trucking operations.

Economic and Competitive Impact

Companies like Averitt Transportation have documented years of competitive disadvantage against operations using drivers without proper documentation. "When a B-1 driver lives in their truck for weeks, moving domestic freight at cut rates, it creates unfair pressure on those of us who play by the rules," the company stated.

The pause directly addresses wage depression in the trucking industry caused by the unlimited importation of foreign drivers willing to work for substandard compensation.

Remaining Enforcement Issues

While the visa pause prevents new entries, thousands of drivers already licensed through the problematic pathways documented in our analysis remain operational until their licenses expire or violations are discovered.

The pause doesn't resolve fundamental conflicts, such as those in states like Texas, which refuse to enforce federal safety requirements while accepting federal enforcement funding through MCSAP programs.

Federal agencies still lack adequate resources and coordination mechanisms to identify and remove unqualified drivers already in the system.

Historical Context and Validation

This emergency action represents federal acknowledgment that the programs and pathways we've documented created genuine public safety threats. The three deaths on Florida's Turnpike became the catalytic event that forced recognition of systematic regulatory failures that had persisted for over a decade.

The Trump administration's response validates every concern raised about:

• H-2B visa program expansion creates dangerous pathways

• Non-domiciled CDL programs lacking adequate safety screening

• State licensing loopholes enabling regulatory circumvention

• Federal agency coordination failures are allowing violations to persist

• Industry exploitation of "driver shortage" narratives to justify lowered safety standards

The visa pause represents an emergency brake on a system spinning out of control. Still, comprehensive reform requires addressing the contradictions between state-level programs and federal funding that enabled these failures. The administration's actions provide an opportunity to rebuild commercial driver licensing and immigration programs with safety as the primary consideration rather than an afterthought to political and economic pressures.

The question now is whether this emergency response will catalyze comprehensive reform or remain a temporary measure that fails to address the underlying systemic failures that made tragedies like the Florida Turnpike crash inevitable.

Key Questions for Federal Accountability:

• How can FMCSA justify funding enforcement programs in states that refuse to enforce federal regulations?

• What mechanisms exist to hold states accountable for MCSAP funding violations?

• Why hasn't federal funding been suspended for states with documented non-compliance?