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New GOP bill to block undocumented truckers’ licenses
Rep. Drew blamed the accidents caused by Indian-origin drivers as the reason for such a bill being tabled.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Tue, 18, Nov 2025
- 02:59 EST
- 24
Rep. Jefferson Van Drew and representative image of trucks / Wikimedia commons and Pexels
Republican Congressman Jefferson Van Drew has introduced an act to stop states from issuing Commercial Driving Licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrants, titled, 'No Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDLs) for Illegals Act.
The bill comes amid rising debate over the issue, following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia's temporary stay on The Department of Transport's rule that took away states’ authority to issue non-domiciled CDL licenses. The DoT rule was triggered by multiple fatal crashes involving Indian origin truck drivers.
ALSO READ: Federal court order temporarily protects 200,000 immigrant truck drivers
Twenty-eight-year-old illegal immigrant truck driver Harjinder Singh allegedly caused a crash that killed three people on Florida’s Turnpike. Federal officials confirmed Singh entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 and later obtained a commercial driver’s license in California.
In another incident, Jashanpreet Singh was arrested for allegedly driving an 18-wheeler that plowed into several vehicles, causing an eight-vehicle pileup that left three people dead and four others injured.
ALSO READ: Toxicology clears Indian truck driver in fatal California crash
Rep. Drew, who switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in 2019, accused Harjinder Singh and Jashanpreet Singh of causing fatal accidents and cited them as the reason for such a bill being tabled.
“People are dying because sanctuary states are handing out CDLs to illegal immigrants who should not be behind the wheel of tractor-trailers,” said Congressman Van Drew.
“These trucks can weigh more than 80,000 pounds. They take real training, real skill, and the ability to speak and understand English to drive safely. If a driver cannot read road signs or understand warnings from other truckers, everyone on the road is in danger. When states allow this, it does not just hurt the people in their own state. These trucks travel across the country every day, and it is the rest of America that ends up paying the price. If states refuse to follow the rules, then they should lose every dime of federal transportation funding until they comply. The law exists to protect our citizens, and too many families have already paid the price for this reckless disregard of it.”
The bill comes after the administration had previously issued orders for road-side English proficiency tests, a move that has sidelined over 7000 immigrant truck drivers since it came to force.
The bill also seeks to give special powers to the Secretary of Transportation to freeze state funds if the states fail to comply with the bill. Additionally, the Secretary shall also be given the power to issue fines to trucking companies that employ truck drivers without valid commercial licences.
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