A tractor-trailer and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

The Trump administration is celebrating pulling nearly 10,000 commercial truck drivers off US highways for not passing English tests.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touted new language enforcement in a social media post on Wednesday, Dec. 10. He reposted a Bloomberg report on how the Trump administration's immigration crackdown has disrupted the freight industry.

More than 9,500 drivers have been taken off US roads for failing English checks since late June, according to Bloomberg's analysis of federal data.

"We've now knocked 9,500 truck drivers out of service for failing to speak our national language — ENGLISH!" he posted. "This administration will always put you and your family's safety first.🚚"

While English is the native language for most Americans, it was not the nation's official language until Trump declared it in a March executive order. Legal experts say the decree has limited power, but adopting a standard language for federal business could restrict access to forms and services for non-English speakers.

In late April, the US Department of Transportation told inspectors to remove truck drivers from service if they can't "sufficiently read or speak English." The agency referenced two deadly crashes when announcing the enforcement effort.

The English tests are one way that the trucking industry has been affected by Trump's broader immigration agenda. A federal court has paused Duffy's attempt to limit commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) for foreign-born applicants.

Wikimedia Commons - NASA/Bill Ingalls

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested hundreds of truckers across the country under Trump. Several mid-November raids along the New York State Thruway near Buffalo and Syracuse resulted in the arrest of 37 drivers with valid CDLs from nine states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Josh Rosenthal, a workers' rights attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, said the language tests aren't necessary and "getting in the way of the actual business of transporting goods."

"There has been tremendous confusion, anxiety, fear among many drivers," he told Bloomberg.

Trucking companies say the stops are disrupting their businesses because the increase in violations also raises their insurance rates. Some drivers also refuse to drive through Southern states because they fear being targeted.

Other truckers have been forced to abandon their tractor-trailers, with companies paying to return them home.

"These are good drivers, experienced drivers, but they get pulled over and the officer says their English isn't good enough," said Vadym Shpak, an Illinois trucking-company owner. "And you know what happens? I have to pay for everything."

Unsplash - Zetong Li

The Trump administration's operations could also increase the ongoing trucker shortage, with federal data showing that foreign-born drivers accounted for about 16% of US truckers in 2023.

"The industry's long-term health depends on a steady flow of skilled drivers," wrote Arturo Castellanos-Canales, a policy and advocacy manager for the National Immigration Forum. "Foreign-born truckers fill essential roles in this workforce, providing critical capacity in an industry facing chronic shortages. Restrictive visa policies risk undermining not only the livelihoods of immigrant drivers but also the stability of national supply chains."

According to the American Trucking Associations, there were about 3.58 million professional truck drivers employed in 2024.