The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced Tuesday it has halted the issuance of commercial driver licenses (CDLs) to non-citizens, following a new federal directive aimed at tightening commercial licensing rules.
Effective immediately, Texas will no longer issue, renew, or reissue CDLs for drivers who are refugees, asylees, or recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Pending applications and testing will also be suspended until further notice.
A non-domiciled CDL is a commercial driver’s license issued to someone who is not a permanent resident of the state (or the U.S.) but is legally present for work.
Industry groups have voiced support for stricter enforcement.
“The Texas Trucking Association has long supported highway safety in Texas, working with state and federal regulators to remove unsafe operators from our roads,” Texas Trucking Association President and CEO John Esparza said in a statement. “We support the Trump Administration and U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy in efforts to eliminate fraud and remove unqualified drivers from our highways. This problem not only affects public safety but threatens our nation’s trade and economic well-being.”
Related: Feds tell states: Enforce trucker English rules or lose millions
DPS officials said the action to halt CDLs to non-citizens aligns with the state’s move to enforce English-language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers.
Texas has the largest total issuance of non-domiciled CDLs since 2015 among states that supplied data to a report by Overdrive.
Since 2015, Texas has issued over 3.2 million total CDLs, including 51,993 CDLs to non-domiciled drivers. In 2024, Texas issued 6,265 CDLs to non-citizens.
The move in Texas to stop issuing CDLs to non-citizens comes after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an emergency rule in response to a series of fatal crashes involving immigrant truck drivers who were later found to be improperly licensed.
Federal officials said audits uncovered widespread violations in several states, including Texas, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington, where CDLs were granted to drivers who no longer had valid immigration status.
On Aug. 26, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it is considering withholding millions in federal highway funds from California, New Mexico, and Washington, accusing the states of failing to enforce English-language proficiency standards for commercial truck drivers.
DOT officials said the three states will have 30 days to comply with the federal rule or risk losing funds from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. California faces the potential loss of $33 million, Washington $10.5 million, and New Mexico $7 million.
