Federal agencies are cracking down on commercial driver’s license schools across the country because of English proficiency violations, with Texas topping the list of shutdowns.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the interagency campaign earlier this week alongside the Department of Homeland Security.
As part of the announcement, Duffy highlighted the agency’s three-part enforcement action to stop fraudulent commercial driver training and testing. The first action was the emergency removal of 110 online and physical schools providing entry-level driver training, which must now cease all training operations.
Texas and Pennsylvania lead in the states most affected, with 13 physical locations shut down in each state.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) also will perform targeted investigations into other entry-level driver training providers and propose removals, as well as conduct a nationwide audit of third-party skills testers.
The Department of Homeland Security is leading a national criminal investigation into the commercial drivers license and commercial trucking sector.
Additionally, the Department of Justice created Joint Task Force Crossroads of America to “safeguard the nation’s highway system and strengthen the security of our borders.”
Duffy said that the DOT has “spent the last year-and-a-half strengthening the rules of the road and removing dangerous foreign drivers from our trucking industry.”
“To fully root out the scourge of fraud, hold criminals accountable, and restore safety, we need the support of federal law enforcement,” said Duffy. “I am so grateful for President Trump raising the alarm on this issue, and to Vice President Vance for leading the charge to crack down on fraud nationwide. From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain.”
DOT reported that in the last year and a half, the agency has removed more than 28,000 truckers from the road for failure to speak English and cancelled more than 30,000 licenses that were illegally issued to foreign drivers.
In August, the Texas Senate Committee on Transportation met to hear testimony concerning alleged gaps in commercial-driver licensing and enforcement.
Lawmakers heard from Major Omar Villarreal, who oversees the commercial vehicle enforcement programs for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Villarreal told the committee that the key public safety issue being faced is the lack of qualified CDL holders, highlighting the issue in two specific ways. First, schools are being improperly overseen, with some allowing students to pay additional fees to receive assistance in passing licensing exams.
Second, Villarreal said the United States recognizes Mexican and Canadian commercial licenses to facilitate international freight movement, but the practice has since gone beyond its original scope and has been an avenue for fraud.
He told lawmakers that licensing fraud is becoming more prevalent across the U.S. and argued that the issue needs to be addressed at the state level as well.
During public testimony, Ammon Blair, senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told the committee that Texas does not necessarily lack trucking laws, just a consistent way to enforce existing ones.
Blair gave several suggestions for the legislature to consider, including expanding and equalizing local CMV enforcement under Texas Transportation Code; strengthening credential integrity; clarifying foreign-license and interstate hauling enforcement; and establishing a multi-agency Highway Shield–Operation Lone Star commercial vehicle operation.
