As President Donald Trump continues his crackdown against illegal immigration, congressional Republicans are moving to block blue states from issuing commercial drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) announced new legislation this week to bar illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs), which Democrat-led states have been allowing them to do. The bill, entitled the “Secure Commercial Driver Licensing Act of 2025,” was introduced in the Senate on Thursday and will be introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday.

The legislation would require all CDL-related testing to be conducted only in English and require CDL applicants to have held a regular driver’s license for at least one year before a CDL can be issued. If enacted, the bill would further empower Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy to “suspend or revoke a state’s authority to issue non-domiciled CDLs if found non-compliant with federal standards.”

Barr said in a statement, “By issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants, states like California are undermining federal law and endangering public safety. Our bill restores accountability by strengthening President Trump’s authority to hold liberal states in check when they defy federal law and recklessly grant CDLs to illegal immigrants.” Cotton added, “For everyone’s safety, you must be able to read and understand English road signs when operating a commercial vehicle. Our bill would require commercial drivers to pass the test given in English.”

“If you drive a truck in the United States, you should be able to speak English fluently,” Tuberville asserted. “This protects our law enforcement officers and the general public. This is not only about safety and efficiency — it’s just common sense. Whether taking their kids to school, driving to work, or going to the grocery store, Americans shouldn’t feel in danger every time they get on the road.”

The bill comes after an illegal immigrant, Indian national Harjinder Singh, was charged with three counts of manslaughter this summer for making an illegal U-turn while driving a freight truck and killing three Americans on the highway. Democrat-run states Washington and California both provided Singh with a CDL. Following the collision, Singh failed both an English language proficiency (ELP) test, answering only two out of 12 questions correctly, and a traffic sign recognition test, answering only one question correctly. Singh had also been stopped previously by police in New Mexico, who did not administer the required ELP test. The illegal immigrant entered a “not guilty” plea late last month.

In April, the president issued an executive order requiring CDL applicants and drivers to be proficient in English and able to recognize and understand U.S. traffic signage. The president wrote that it is “common sense” that CDL drivers “should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers. They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers. Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English.”

Trump continued, “My Administration will enforce the law to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others, including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensure that anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, Jessica Vaughan, director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, welcomed the Republican bill. “It’s almost unbelievable that this legislation is needed, but it is, because certain states have been negligent in allowing unqualified, noncitizen, non-English-speaking people to obtain these licenses,” she said. “The result has been disastrous. There has been a long series of crashes and other incidents caused by incompetent and/or reckless truck drivers who should never have been given this credential. Some are not authorized to work here at all, and their employment denies legal U.S. workers these jobs.”

Brandy Perez, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told TWS that the new legislation “is a strong first step, but state legislatures must also act quickly to protect their highways and citizens from preventable crime. Public benefits are reserved for lawful residents under 8 U.S.C. § 1621, and licenses/identification cards serve as gateways to access those benefits.” She continued, “It’s not just American public benefits at stake; lax department of motor vehicle policies also discriminate against U.S. citizens by granting illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses. Illegal aliens are prohibited from working legally in the United States, meaning issuing a commercial driver’s license to illegals is a direct violation of federal immigration and employment laws.”

“States should immediately prohibit the issuance of any driver’s license or identification card to illegal or temporary aliens, revoke priorly issued IDs to any individuals who are now ineligible, and require new and returning applicants to prove lawful permanent residency, a valid U.S. visa, or refugee or asylum status verified by the Department of Homeland Security,” Perez asserted. “Any license issued to noncitizens should expire when their period of lawful status as determined by the federal government does.”

“The REAL ID Act and executive actions by one president are not enough to maintain acceptable standards for interstate truckers,” Vaughan observed. “Apparently the governor of California cares more about providing employment for illegal aliens than he does about the safety of everyone else on the road, and shows no sign of tightening the state’s policies. It’s appropriate that Congress move to close these loopholes.”

On Wednesday, Duffy announced stringent federal penalties to be leveled against California, citing the Democrat-led state’s failure to comply with ELP standards and requirements in issuing drivers’ licenses. “I put states on notice this summer: enforce the Trump Administration’s English language requirements or the checks stop coming,” Duffy said in a statement. “California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s road.”

Consequently, DOT will be withholding nearly $41 million in federal funding from the Golden State. “Let me be clear — this is valuable money that should be going to the great men and women in California law enforcement, who we support. Gov. Newsom’s insistence on obstructing federal law has tied my hands,” Duffy stated. In order to earn back its funding, the DOT warned that California “must adopt and actively enforce a law, regulation, standard, or order that is compatible with the federal ELP requirement for commercial drivers. This means state inspectors need to begin conducting ELP assessments during roadside inspections and place those who fail out-of-service.”

A DOT investigation found last month that over 25% of CDLs issued by California were issued improperly. “Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers — often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it,” Duffy said. “California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe.”