More than 7,000 truck drivers across the United States have been taken off the roads this year for failing mandatory English proficiency exams, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. The sweeping crackdown follows a series of high-profile road accidents involving Indian-origin truckers, triggering widespread concern within the country’s South Asian trucking community.
Thousands of Drivers Affected as Enforcement Tightens
According to Duffy, 7,248 commercial drivers had been placed out of service as of October 2025, based on real-time data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The number represents a sharp jump from just 1,500 in July, underscoring the government’s renewed focus on language enforcement since the rule was reinstated earlier this summer.
The North American Punjabi Truckers Association estimates that between 130,000 and 150,000 truck drivers from Punjab and Haryana are currently employed in the US. Thousands of them, the group says, have been impacted by the rule, which has caused serious disruptions in the community that forms a crucial part of the country’s logistics backbone.
Trump Order Reinstates Stricter Language Mandate
The language mandate gained new momentum after a Trump administration executive order reversed a 2016 Obama-era memo that had prevented inspectors from suspending drivers solely due to language barriers.
“Commercial truck drivers must speak and understand English to operate, or they will be taken out of service,” Duffy declared.
FMCSA data shows that at least 5,006 English-related out-of-service violations were recorded through October, with the number rising steadily as more states tighten roadside checks, according to freight reporting agency FreightWaves.
Under federal rule 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2), anyone holding a Commercial Driver’s Licence (CDL) must be able to communicate in English, including reading signs, interacting with law enforcement, and maintaining accurate driving logs.
Following President Donald Trump’s June 2025 executive order, drivers who fail the English test are now immediately removed from service, as per new directives from the Transportation Department.
Spike in Crashes Involving Indian Truckers Triggers Crackdown
The tougher enforcement comes after several tragic crashes drew national attention. In October, an Indian driver was accused of killing three Americans in a multi-vehicle pileup on a California highway.
In another incident on the Florida Turnpike, three people died when a tractor-trailer driven by an undocumented Indian immigrant made a dangerous U-turn. According to ABC News, the driver had failed his commercial driving test multiple times but still managed to obtain a California CDL.
Data from FreightWaves also shows that Texas issues the highest number of non-domiciled CDLs, licences granted to foreign nationals who are legally permitted to operate commercial vehicles in the US.
‘It’s Not a Safety Issue, It’s Communication’: Critics Push Back
While federal officials argue that the policy enhances highway safety, industry groups and carriers near the southern border claim it unfairly targets bilingual and non-native English-speaking drivers.
“We have drivers who’ve been operating safely for years, but now they’re being sidelined because they can’t respond in English fast enough during a roadside inspection,” said Adalberto Campero, CEO of Unimex, a trucking company based in Pharr, Texas.
“This isn’t about safety, it’s about perception. These drivers know their routes, customers, and regulations, yet they’re losing jobs over language nuances,” he added.
Last month, the Trump administration issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that could revoke commercial licences from thousands of non-domiciled immigrant drivers, according to The Sikh Coalition, a leading Sikh advocacy group.
Advocacy Groups Condemn Move as Discriminatory
The Sikh Coalition condemned the move, calling it a “targeted effort to remove nearly 194,000 immigrant drivers from the workforce.”
“This change isn’t based on English proficiency or safety concerns,” the group said in a statement. “It’s rooted in the belief that non-domiciled CDL holders are inherently dangerous — a notion that unfairly paints hardworking immigrant drivers as a threat to public safety.”
