The U.S. State Department has paused the issuance of work visas for foreigners seeking employment as commercial truck drivers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday.
“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio said in a post on X.
The announcement follows a high-profile crash on August 12 on Florida’s Turnpike, where a truck driver made an illegal U-turn, resulting in a fatal accident that killed three people. The driver, Harjinder Singh, an alleged undocumented immigrant, reportedly held a California commercial driver’s license. Despite federal regulations prohibiting undocumented individuals from obtaining one.
In response, the American Trucking Associations voiced support for the visa pause, emphasizing the need for “serious scrutiny, including the enforcement of entry-level driver training standards.”
This development signals potential broader scrutiny of work visa programs and immigration compliance across industries. It comes amid increased federal enforcement actions, including recent workplace raids on farms employing undocumented immigrants.
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