Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Jul 17: US President Donald Trump has announced plans to replace what he described as “illegal alien truck drivers” with American military veterans, saying the move is aimed at improving road safety and creating employment opportunities for former service personnel.
Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Trump said his administration would take “historic action” to ensure that undocumented immigrants are not employed as commercial truck drivers in the United States.
“They came in totally illegally, and we don’t want them. They are driving all over American roadways, and we’re going to replace them with proud American veterans,” Trump said. He added that military personnel with experience driving heavy vehicles would automatically become eligible for a commercial driver's licence.
Trump linked the announcement to the recent death of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr., who was killed after being struck by a semi-truck allegedly driven by an undocumented immigrant earlier this month.
According to reports, the accused, identified as 33-year-old Michael Bon, has been charged with multiple offences, including homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and several traffic-related violations.
The proposed policy could have implications for thousands of Indian-origin truck drivers in the United States, particularly those from Punjab and Haryana, who form a significant portion of the country's immigrant trucking workforce. According to data from the North American Punjabi Truckers Association, an estimated 1.3 lakh to 1.5 lakh truck drivers in the US have roots in the two Indian states.
The latest announcement follows a series of immigration-related measures introduced by the Trump administration targeting the commercial transport sector.
Earlier this year, the administration announced the ‘Dalilah Law’, which bars undocumented immigrants from obtaining commercial driver's licences. The legislation was named after a five-year-old girl who was injured in a multi-vehicle collision in California in 2024, allegedly caused by an Indian national who, according to US authorities, was living in the country illegally.
The administration has maintained that the new measures are intended to strengthen road safety, tighten immigration enforcement and prioritise employment opportunities for American citizens, particularly military veterans.