On Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered the removal of 270 commercial driver’s license (CDL) schools from the federal Training Provider Registry. The Department of Transportation cited two primary reasons: the schools’ issuance of CDLs to illegal aliens and their failure to maintain adequate training facilities.
Of the 270 schools, 110 had accredited at least 5,000 drivers who could not speak English. Those schools must now cease operations indefinitely because they no longer hold legal status on the Registry. The Department suspended the remaining 160 schools for failing to meet minimum training facility standards.
Secretary Duffy emphasized the danger of allowing poorly trained drivers onto American roads, holding credential mills responsible. Duffy stated: “If you’re here illegally and you can’t speak the language and you’re not well-trained, you don’t deserve to be in a big rig, endangering American citizens.”
According to Duffy, 239 Americans have died since January 2025 in crashes caused by truck drivers who either could not speak English or lacked citizenship.
The administration is right to hold these businesses accountable. They put American families at risk for profit. Illegal aliens belong on deportation flights, not behind the wheel of vehicles that can become lethal weapons. Removing these schools from the registry both prevents future fatalities and deters others from employing illegal aliens.
Texans for Strong Borders has long opposed granting CDLs to any illegal alien or non-English speaker. President Chris Russo recently testified in front of state legislators about this exact issue.
With the federal government showing this unprecedented initiative, state lawmakers should follow the Trump administration’s lead and take action. Texas must codify an English-only exam standard for drivers and legislate a ban on the issuance of CDLs to noncitizens.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the vast majority of the illegal alien drivers involved in deadly crashes received their CDLs in sanctuary cities, particularly California. Blue states and their sanctuary cities do bear a large amount of responsibility, yet Texas is not immune to the problem.
In testimony before the Texas House Committee on Transportation, Chris Russo noted that Texas-based trucking companies lead the nation with 6,588 English language proficiency violations. Though Texas does not encourage CDLs to be issued to illegals like California does, violators are still finding ways to exploit existing loopholes.
The state legislature must close these loopholes. The upcoming 2027 legislative session is a prime opportunity to pass sound policy that puts Texans first and saves lives.