Why Illiterate Foreign Truck Drivers Are A Much Bigger Issue Than You Think

Outlets like CNN and MSNBC (which has now been rebranded to “MS Right Now” or “MSNBC Right Away” or “MS No Ones Watching” or something along those lines) would prefer to talk about, say, Zelensky’s attire for five hours. But that kind of coverage doesn’t address very basic questions, such as:

[snip]

In an effort to secure the nation’s roadways, just a few months ago, the Trump administration made a significant change to the way that truck drivers are regulated in this country. The Department of Transportation announced that commercial motor vehicle drivers who cannot demonstrate proficiency in the English language should be placed “out of service.” The change, the administration announced, would “ensure consistent, nationwide enforcement” of this very important qualification. After all, if you can’t read the road signs, then you have no business operating any kind of vehicle, much less an 18-wheeler.

In practical terms, there are two phases to this test, which often takes place on the roadside after a driver is pulled over. In phase one, drivers are not allowed to cheat by using any cue cards or smartphone apps. That might seem like a pretty obvious restriction, but the Obama administration had allowed it. Instead, drivers are required to “respond to official inquiries and directions in English,” as they carry on a basic conversation about their trip, their cargo and their qualifications. Then, in phase two, officers are supposed to assess the driver’s ability to understand highway signs — including standard signs and electronic signs, which are more dynamic.

By all accounts, these are not particularly difficult tests. For example, here’s a recent video from a trucker in Arkansas, which already had a similar English language test for truckers:

Credit: @truckingtalent/YouTube.com

[snip]

And yet, as simplistic as this test is, it caused a lot of panic among truckers who can’t speak a word of English. So, in recent weeks, they’ve made the argument that they’re just doing their best, and it’s wrong for Donald Trump to be mean to them. Watch:

Credit: NesNation/YouTube.com

This was the state of play, as of last week. The Trump administration, using its authority to regulate the highways and interstate commerce, issued an order saying that truckers can either speak English, or lose their license. And the only truckers who had an issue with it, predictably, were the ones who can’t speak the language.

[snip]

So let’s break down exactly how this mandate is being enforced, or ignored, by the states.

According to research published on the website “Overdrive,” so far this year, “California inspectors have logged just one English Language Proficiency (or ELP) violation away from the border zone, and inspectors did not place that driver out of service.”

We’ll put the rest of their data on the screen right now.

Credit: Overdrive by Fusable

As you can see, states like Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, and Arizona have been recording a relatively high number of truck drivers who have been removed from service because they failed the English language proficiency test. At the same time, the raw numbers themselves still aren’t particularly large. This data runs from June 25 to July 20, so it includes a bit less than a month. And in that period, Arizona recorded 157 ELP violations, but only 43 of those drivers were removed from service. Texas recorded more than 1,800 ELP violations, and only 6 drivers were removed from service (and all 6 of those drivers were caught in the interior of the state, away from border counties). In Colorado, all 41 ELP violations resulted in the driver being removed.

[snip]

The consequences of this approach, as the Department of Transportation laid out yesterday, led directly to the deaths of three people on the Florida Turnpike last week.

Credit: @RT_com/X

We covered this case yesterday. The driver, an illegal alien from India, made an illegal U-Turn with his 18-wheeler across several lanes of traffic, blocking traffic and leaving a van going 80 miles per hour with nowhere to go — except right into the trailer. As it happens, the driver of the truck wasn’t simply an illegal alien who had no business in this country. He was also illiterate. And he was clearly in violation of the Trump administration’s new order on English proficiency.

Credit: U.S. Department of Transportation

From the Department of Transportation: “During The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration interview with the driver, investigators administered an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment. … The driver failed the assessment, providing correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs.”

[snip]

Credit: St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Florida

With that in mind, take a look at the U-Turn sign on the road where this crash happened in Florida. It clearly communicates that no U-Turn is allowed, except “For official use only.” Any English speaking person would understand exactly what this means.

[snip]

But as we return to the report from the federal government, things only get worse.

Again from the Department of Transportation:

Additional preliminary findings include:

• On July 15th, 2023, Washington State issued the driver a regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). Asylum seekers or individuals without legal status are NOT eligible for this type of license.
• On July 23, 2024, California issued the driver a limited-term/non-domiciled CDL. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is investigating the issuance of this license to determine whether it was issued in accordance with Federal regulations.
• On July 3, 2025, the New Mexico State Police conducted a roadside inspection of the driver and issued a speeding ticket, but there is no indication that an ELP assessment was administered. New Mexico has not yet begun enforcing ELP as an out-of-service condition, despite the requirement being in effect since June 25, 2025.

In other words, the state of Washington unlawfully issued a standard commercial driver’s license. There’s no question that decision was illegal. Then, the state of California issued a “non-domiciled CDL,” which as we discussed yesterday, is somehow legal, even when the driver is an illegal alien. And then, to top it off, police in New Mexico had a chance to take away the driver’s license when they pulled him over for speeding. But they failed to perform the English language proficiency test that the Trump administration required.

[snip]

Now, it’s true that, under our Constitution, states don’t have to obey every command from the federal government. So normally, as long as they’re not actively obstructing federal agents, it’s difficult to compel states to enforce any particular federal rule. But there are some rules that the federal government can, indeed, pressure the states to obey. Article One of the Constitution grants the federal government the power to regulate commerce among the states, which includes the highway system. That’s why, back in the 1980s, Congress passed the “National Minimum Drinking Age Act,” which handed out a financial penalty to any state that allowed people under the age of 21 to purchase alcohol.

Congress made the case that young drunk drivers were a major threat to interstate commerce, because they’d often kill people using the highways. And therefore, Congress asserted that it had the authority, under the Constitution, to withhold 10% of the federal highway funding from any state that refused to enforce the new drinking limit. That was a significant amount of money that states needed in order to maintain their roads. And the pressure worked. The states mostly fell in line. In 1987, when the Supreme Court heard a dispute over the law, Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote an opinion upholding the authority of Congress to apply some financial pressure on the states, as long as that pressure served a valid federal interest.

[snip]

This isn’t simply another 80-20 issue. This is a 99-to-1 issue. People are unanimous on this. After our show yesterday, we received so many comments from truckers (and people who are in the trucking industry) who are echoing this sentiment. Here are just a few:

I’m a freight broker. I have to speak to and deal with these foreigners EVERY DAY. It drives me absolutely nuts, as it does for all brokers. So many of them don’t understand a lick of English, forcing me to speak to their dispatchers to convey messages back and forth.

As a Trucker in Virginia, I’ve seen translators take the test for unqualified drivers all the time.

I’m from Ohio. If you get hit by a foreigner, there’s a 100% chance they do NOT have insurance and you’ll be footing the bill (at least your deductible). It’s waaay out of hand here. They never get in any legal trouble for it either.

I traveled the globe in the military, there are very few places in the world that as a culture cares about safety of others like ours. Death in many of these places is so commonplace, and unless they catch you with the knife in your hand actually stuck in the body, it is pretty much oh well, sucks to be that guy.

I am Canadian and have a trucker friend who has been driving for twenty years. He cannot get jobs anymore because Indian drivers are undercutting all the established truckers.

As an American truck driver who travels all over the lower 48, I am reading this story from the Kenworth Sleeper in my semi. I second every point made and am glad to finally see, what those of us in the industry have known a long time, being brought to light on a national stage.

There are thousands of comments like this. The conclusion is pretty clear: Truckers have been trying to raise the alarm for many, many years. And now that mainstream attention is finally focused on this very obvious issue, they’re demanding some sort of serious federal response, for once. They should receive it. That’s what we voted for.

[snip]

Credit: @unlimited_ls/X

Meanwhile in San Bernardino, officers who attempted to arrest an illegal alien were just attacked by the local residents. Watch:

Credit: @KimKatieUSA/X

The whole neighborhood should be placed under immediate surveillance and investigation. They’re all fighting with law enforcement officers. We all know they’re not Americans. Investigate every single one of them. And if they’re illegals, then deport them.

That’s what it takes, at this point. It could not be any more clear that we’re dealing with two options here. One option is to ruthlessly crack down on foreigners who have violated our sovereignty, and who endanger the lives of American citizens. The other option is to allow these foreigners to ruthlessly attack law enforcement officials and terrorize American citizens on the highways. Those are the choices.

[snip]

Now the federal government has to make it clear where it stands. The Trump administration must use its authority, under the Constitution, to pressure every noncompliant state into compliance. Before any more Americans are slaughtered by truck drivers who can’t even read a stop sign, any state that’s enabling this lunacy must face consequences. That’s how the federal government enforced the drinking age. They can do it again. We have the capability to save thousands of lives, just by compelling states to enforce a regulation that’s already on the books. We can make the interstate ten times safer than it already is, virtually overnight. And if there’s one issue that every single trucker — except the illegal ones — can agree on, it’s that we’re long overdue for exactly that kind of transformation.