FMCSA has finalized strict new non-domiciled CDL standards, initiating a five-year staggered phase-out for an estimated 200,000 drivers affected by the new rule.
The question people always ask is, “Where did they get the money to grow to 500 trucks?” It’s all in the model, and it’s often rinse, reuse, repeat.
A Mexican licencia federal de conductor can be obtained without a behind-the-wheel road test. Third-party brokers advertise mail-order processing for as little as $200. Under existing reciprocity agreements, that license can be converted to an American CDL in states that accept foreign credentials, and at least six of those states have been flagged by FMCSA for failing to verify the legal presence of non-domiciled applicants.
A truck driver licensing overhaul has moved to OMB for final review, signaling an imminent end to regulatory limbo for nearly 200,000 foreign-domiciled truckers.
On Tuesday afternoon, a 30-year-old truck driver from Philadelphia named Bekzhan Beishekeev failed to stop for slowed traffic on State Road 67 in Jay County, Indiana. He swerved into oncoming traffic and killed four Amish men from the Bryant community: Henry Eicher, 58, his sons Menno, 33, and Paul, 31, and Simon Schwartz, 22.
FMCSA clarifies that while most English proficiency failures now trigger out-of-service orders, truck drivers in designated border zones will be allowed to continue their routes.
A proposed bill in Arizona would allow police to arrest truck drivers found using falsified commercial driver’s licenses and seize tractors.
Regulators are pursuing a three-year extension for a non-domiciled CDL data collection despite legal challenges, citing a need for federal oversight.
The Florida Senate Transportation Committee voted 6-3 on Tuesday to advance legislation requiring law enforcement to detain commercial truck drivers in the country illegally, impound their vehicles, fine owners $50,000, and ban the carrier from operating in the state. This is the tip of the spear now aimed at CDL programs nationwide.
SB 1587 adds $1 million minimum damages, employer liability and ICE notification requirements
The Trump administration plans to step up its crackdown of non-domiciled CDL drivers by using AI to smoke out the companies that hire them.
The two-day Driver Legitimacy Summit will convene in Atlanta on Feb. 5-6 to address risks to the industry posed by unauthorized and fraudulent commercial truck drivers.
The Trump administration’s decision to drop its appeal that tied billions in transportation funding to immigration enforcement represents a significant legal setback, but don’t mistake this tactical retreat for surrender. For motor carriers employing non-domiciled CDL holders, the regulatory battlefield has only shifted, not cleared.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold $50 million from North Carolina after an audit found the state illegally issued over half of its foreign driver CDLs.
The U.S. government has withheld millions in truck safety funds from California for missing a deadline to cancel thousands of CDLs issued to foreign nationals.
The U.S. Postal Service is moving to eliminate foreign truck drivers who are ineligible to work in the U.S. from third-party motor carriers.
Truck crash victim advocates want FMCSA to permanently scrap its teen-driver pilot program, calling it a lethal risk to road safety.
A class-action lawsuit filed in Alameda County seeks to block California’s Jan. 5 cancellation of nearly 20,000 commercial driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs argue the DMV is punishing immigrant drivers for the agency’s own administrative failures while refusing to let them reapply for corrected credentials, violating state law and due process.
Small fleet owner Steve Troyer says non-domiciled CDL drivers and weak enforcement are undercutting compliant carriers.
An FMCSA audit found that New York unlawfully issued CDLs to foreign applicants with expired visas, prompting an order to halt issuance or face a loss of funding.
