The Donald Trump-led administration in United States cancelled the commercial trucker licences held by over 28,000 immigrants, while launching a program to replace them with military veterans, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday.
According to a press release by the administration, CDLs of 24,000 non-citizens who cannot speak or read English proficiently have been cancelled. The Trump administration said it had also worked with the states to shut down 9,500 driving schools that have helped these truckers drive in America.
The move will likely impact Indian immigrants in the US, with nearly 130,000 to 150,000 truck drivers in the US coming directly from Punjab and Haryana, according to the North American Punjabi Truckers Association data cited by The Indian Express.
Also Read | US veterans to replace ‘illegal alien’ truckers: Why Trump’s move will affect Indians
The move will cause a dearth of nearly 30,000 truckers who used to deliver goods to America’s market. The Freedom Haulers campaign has seemingly been launched to remedy this.
Trump admin’s crackdown on ‘illegal aliens’
The move is part of a wider crackdown on immigrant truckers in the US, which intensified after an August, 2025 crash in Florida, when a truck driver performed an illegal U-turn that killed three people.
The US transportation department then began enforcing existing English language requirements for truckers. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the driver, who was from India, should never have been issued a licence in the first place.
Since then, 26,000 drivers have been pulled off the road over their inadequate demonstration of English proficiency. The federal government further attempted to withhold millions of dollars of highway funds from California and New York over alleged non-compliance in revoking thousands more licences, an issue which is now before a court. Several other states — including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina — have been warned they are at risk of losing funding.
What is the Freedom Haulers campaign?
The new campaign will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver’s licence, the Associated Press reported.
US President Donald Trump and US transportation secretary Sean Duffy, along with veteran affairs secretary Douglas A Collins and acting labour secretary Keith Sonderling hosted US military veterans last week at the White House to kick off the campaign.
“The initiative builds on President Trump’s efforts to clean up America’s roadways, crack down on dangerous foreign drivers, and support American truckers,” a press release by the US transportation department said.
“Illegal immigrants who can’t speak our language have no business getting behind the wheel of a big rig. Veterans – who have already demonstrated the grit, discipline, and skills to take on this vital task – are the right people for the job,” Duffy said. He added that this campaign would help US military veterans get their licences faster and “start making real money in record time.”