Kevinson Jean, a Haitian immigrant truck driver, expressed anxiety about English proficiency during his commercial driver’s license exam. Recent changes, enacted by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, mandate that truck drivers must demonstrate English fluency or risk being taken off the road. This directive, stemming from a Trump executive order, reverses a previous leniency on penalties. While supported by some industry groups for enhancing safety, the change raises concerns among drivers, particularly those from diverse backgrounds. Critics worry about potential discrimination in enforcement, as many drivers may struggle to meet the new requirements, complicating their employment opportunities.
Despite being fluent in English during his truck driver training, Kevinson Jean, a Haitian immigrant, shared feelings of unease while taking his commercial driver’s license exam.
“I often feared mispronouncing something,” said Jean, who drives approximately 100,000 miles annually as a truck driver. “I didn’t want anyone to ridicule me.”
He remembered classmates from Iran who, despite their limited English, still passed their tests. “Nobody could comprehend them, but they succeeded,” he mentioned.
These individuals, among other truck drivers, will now face roadside English competency assessments. On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy officially introduced a directive to his department, mandating the removal of truck drivers from the road if they lack English fluency. This directive enforces an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on April 28.
Trump’s order modifies the penalties for law violations, which for many years have stipulated that to qualify as a commercial vehicle driver, one must “read and speak the English language sufficiently to communicate with the public, understand highway traffic signs and signals in English, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records.”
The Obama administration had eased the penalty from road removal to citation issuance.
“We are issuing guidance to ensure that a driver who cannot comprehend English will not operate a vehicle in this nation. Period. Full stop,” Duffy stated during a news conference in Austin, Texas, which has the highest number of heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers.
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The reversal of penalties has garnered support from industry organizations who argue that it will enhance highway safety. However, there is also pushback from drivers and industry representatives, who warn that the change could exclude a considerable segment of the workforce without addressing fundamental issues like compensation, hours, and truck driver training.
After Trump’s directive, the American Trucking Association expressed gratitude in a statement for “addressing our concerns regarding the inconsistent application of this existing regulation.” The association ranked this as its second major issue in a letter to Duffy dated April 10, with fast-track training for commercial driver’s licenses being their primary concern.
Duffy indicated that his department will evaluate security measures for granting commercial drivers’ licenses, which differ from state to state, as well as the credentials of “nondomiciled” domestic and international truckers—those who do not reside in the state that issued their commercial drivers’ license.
“For far too long, misguided policies have favored political correctness over the safety of the American public,” Duffy asserted.
Concerns About Enforcement
The modification has raised alarms among drivers of Sikh and Punjabi descent, noted Mannirmal Kaur, senior federal policy manager for the Sikh Coalition. She indicated a rise in Sikh and Punjabi drivers between 2016 and 2018, totaling around 150,000 drivers in the industry.
Like others, they desire safe roads for everyone, Kaur stated. However, “we believe there is a potential for discrimination in the enforcement of the English language proficiency requirement.”
Trump’s executive order introduces uncertainties regarding how state and local law enforcement officers, authorized as inspectors, will determine whom to stop for an English competency assessment.
“Will it be someone with an accent or perhaps someone wearing a turban?” Kaur questioned. “Being ordered out of service could lead to unemployment for the truck driver… with possibly limited options for recourse.”
The coalition is awaiting further details on training and has recommended national standardized training for language proficiency testing.
An analysis of Department of Transportation data conducted by the Women of Trucking Advisory Board to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated that roughly 3.8% of the CDL workforce has limited English proficiency.
The industry has reported a gradual rise in foreign-born drivers over the years, yet drivers continue to predominantly be white and male, according to the board’s analysis.
The number of large truck accidents and the associated deaths and injuries decreased in 2024 compared to 2023, maintaining a downward trend since 2021, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statistics.
FTR Intelligence, which offers economic forecasts for the freight sector, noted that the FMCSA recorded about 15,200 violations regarding English language proficiency over the two years ending in March, although not all were committed by the same drivers. Texas accounted for the highest percentage of violations at 16%, while trucks with Mexican plates represented 3.4% of the total.
Jean expressed concern that the new penalties might deter individuals who otherwise would have pursued truck driving careers.
“It’s already challenging to secure a job without at least a year of experience,” he remarked. “Now, envision the added hurdle of English fluency. It’s going to take people significantly longer to find employment.”