The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Wednesday it has closed a major loophole that allowed unqualified drivers, including illegal immigrants, to operate commercial trucks after several fatal crashes last year involving non-domiciled drivers.
“For far too long, America has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems, wreaking havoc on our roadways. This safety loophole ends today,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said. “Moving forward, unqualified foreign drivers will be unable to get a license to operate an 80,000-pound big rig.”
Officials said foreigners who hold only a work permit will no longer be able to obtain a commercial trucking license because Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) do not provide information about a driver’s previous traffic violations, accidents or license suspensions in other countries.
The reform, which formally codifies the policy into federal regulations, follows Duffy’s emergency action last September to end the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to truckers with unverified driving histories.
Federal regulators have stepped up enforcement of trucker licensing rules after a surge of deadly crashes involving non-domiciled drivers last summer. In 2025, at least 30 people died in 17 crashes caused by non-domiciled drivers, according to the DOT. Regulators added that at least 30 states have issued commercial driver’s licenses to drivers deemed ineligible.
The DOT clarified that while states can screen U.S. drivers through national databases for past violations, such as driving under the influence or crash history, they lack the ability to access records of foreigners and illegal immigrants.
Under the reforms, officials will prevent state driver’s licensing agencies (SDLAs) from issuing CDLs to foreign drivers without verifying their driving history and will end reliance on EADs, which the DOT said has led to more than 30 states illegally issuing tens of thousands of licenses to ineligible drivers.
While EADs will no longer be accepted as proof of eligibility, applicants seeking a CDL must present an unexpired foreign passport along with the appropriate Form I‑94, the document used to track a noncitizen’s entry to and exit from the United States.
Under the provisions, only foreign nationals holding temporary work visas, such as H‑2B, H‑1B or temporary investor visas from treaty countries, known as E‑2 visas, may be eligible.
In addition, states must verify the lawful immigration status of every applicant by checking the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.
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The DOT emphasized that the crackdown on roadway safety is a response to a string of harrowing crashes in which truckers holding non-domiciled CDLs engaged in reckless and dangerously negligent driving.
In August, a driver attempting an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike reportedly triggered a crash that killed three people. In October, another driver failed to stop on a California highway, causing an eight-vehicle collision that also claimed three lives, according to the DOT. Last December in Ontario, California, a truck reportedly collided with a train at a marked crossing, killing a crew member.
“This is for Dalilah Coleman and all the Americans killed or hurt in crashes caused by UNQUALIFIED foreign truck drivers,” Duffy said in a post on X, referring to the 5-year-old girl who suffered life-altering injuries after an illegal immigrant driving an 18-wheeler reportedly slammed into her family last September.
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“These truck drivers should NEVER have received a commercial driver’s license. And this rule makes sure that it won’t happen again.”
The final rule is expected to take effect in one month, around March 15.
Duffy praised the reform as one of several steps the Trump administration is taking to bolster transportation safety, including enforcing English language standards for drivers.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first,” Duffy added. “From enforcing English language standards to holding fraudulent carriers accountable, we will continue to attack this crisis on our roads head on.”
In May, Secretary Duffy signed an order establishing new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. Under the standards, commercial motor vehicle drivers who fail English proficiency tests will be placed out of service.
