Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Mar 5: Sharp divisions emerged among US lawmakers during a congressional hearing over whether immigrants should be allowed to obtain commercial driver’s licences, with Republicans raising concerns about highway safety while Democrats warned the restrictions could hurt the economy and disrupt supply chains.

The hearing was convened by the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability to examine the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licences to individuals who are not permanent residents of the United States.

Subcommittee chairman Josh Brecheen argued that commercial truck drivers play a crucial role in the country’s economy, transporting essential goods such as food, fuel and medicine across the nation. However, he claimed federal audits have revealed shortcomings in how some states enforce licensing standards.

Brecheen cited findings from the US Department of Transportation that highlighted compliance issues in several states. According to him, audits showed that in Illinois, one in five non-domiciled commercial driver’s licences failed to meet federal requirements. He also alleged that California had issued about 17,000 such licences improperly, while a 2025 audit found that more than half of those issued in New York violated federal rules.

Republican lawmakers repeatedly stressed that commercial trucks can pose significant risks if operated by unqualified drivers.
“You do not have to be a scholar to understand what a bad actor could do with a 40-ton tractor-trailer,” Brecheen said, warning that such vehicles could threaten both public safety and national security if misused.

Officials from law enforcement agencies who testified before the panel described enforcement operations targeting drivers who were allegedly violating immigration or licensing regulations.

Tim Tipton, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, said joint actions by state troopers and immigration authorities had led to hundreds of arrests. He also raised concerns about drivers’ English language proficiency and the possibility of licences being obtained through fraudulent training centres.

Meanwhile, Richard Del Toro, sheriff of Saint Lucie County in Florida, recalled a fatal crash involving a commercial vehicle that claimed three lives on the Florida Turnpike, saying the tragedy illustrated the potential consequences of regulatory gaps.

Democratic lawmakers rejected the claims that immigrants holding commercial licences inherently pose safety risks and argued that restricting them could worsen the existing shortage of truck drivers.

Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar said immigrants represent a significant portion of the trucking workforce in the United States, noting that nearly 20 per cent of truck drivers in the country are immigrants.

During the hearing, Wendy Liu, an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group, testified that prohibiting immigrants with legal work authorisation from obtaining commercial driver’s licences would not improve road safety.

She warned that such policies could push around 200,000 experienced drivers out of the trucking industry, potentially disrupting supply chains, delaying deliveries and increasing freight costs.

Lawmakers also discussed a fatal highway accident involving a truck driver who had previously entered the United States illegally and later secured a commercial licence in another state — a case cited by Republicans as evidence of regulatory loopholes in the current system.