Hold the brakes— a federal court just slammed the door on new Department of Transportation rules that would have tightened the screws on immigrant truck drivers getting commercial licenses.
A devastating crash in Fort Pierce, Florida, sparked the push for these restrictions, but a Washington, D.C., appeals court ruling on November 13, 2025, has stopped them cold, citing procedural missteps by the federal government, Fox News reports.
The tragedy in Florida, where an unauthorized migrant truck driver allegedly caused a wreck that claimed three lives, lit a fire under the DOT to act back in September 2025.
The driver, Harjinder Singh, an Indian citizen accused of entering the U.S. unlawfully from Mexico in 2018, reportedly jackknifed his rig during an illegal maneuver, leading to a deadly collision with a van.
Singh, who has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including vehicular homicide and manslaughter, had a troubling record—failing his commercial license knowledge test 10 times in Washington state and flunking an English proficiency exam, per the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
Despite holding a license from California, his case exposed gaps, as an audit there found thousands of immigrant licenses stayed valid even after work permits lapsed, prompting the state to revoke 17,000 of them.
The DOT’s response was a policy announced in September 2025 to limit commercial licenses to immigrants with specific visa types, valid for just one year, and tied to federal database checks on immigration status.
This would have sidelined about 10,000 of the 200,000 immigrant license holders nationwide, though the court’s ruling means they can keep driving until their current licenses expire.
The court hammered the government for not following proper steps in crafting the rule and failing to show how it would boost road safety, especially when Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration stats note immigrants hold 5% of licenses but are tied to only 0.2% of fatal crashes.
On August 26, 2025, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, representing over 150,000 truckers, praised the administration’s initial efforts to tighten safety standards.
Todd Spencer, president of the association, stated that pausing certain visa programs for truck drivers would ensure only qualified folks get behind the wheel, adding that the industry’s overcapacity means supply chains won’t suffer.
But let’s hit the gas on reality—while Spencer’s point on qualifications resonates, the court’s ruling suggests the DOT overreached, leaving safety concerns dangling while procedural red tape takes precedence over common-sense reforms.
Spencer also noted that misuse of visa programs has let unsafe drivers slip through, emphasizing his group’s push for tougher licensing and training with Congress and the administration.
Drill down on that: while the intent to clean up the system is sound, the broader issue of enforcement remains, as seen in California, where in October 2025, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy withheld $40 million over the state’s failure to enforce English language rules for truckers.
California now must test drivers’ English at roadside stops and pull those who fail to get that funding back—a stiff reminder that safety shouldn’t take a backseat to bureaucratic or ideological posturing on either side of this debate.
