White House wants veterans to replace immigrant truckers who lost their licenses in crackdown
The Trump administration wants soldiers to consider becoming truck drivers when they leave the military to replace the tens of thousands of immigrant drivers who lost their licenses in this year’s crackdown.
A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that allow veterans who have recently driven large military vehicles to bypass the skills test required for a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers may take a commercial driving school during the last six months of their active duty. The GI Bill would also cover 100% of commercial driver’s license tuition and, for some people, even pay for housing assistance while in school.
The campaign will be part of a broader interagency effort aimed at helping veterans find good civilian jobs that the White House plans to announce Monday.
Ministry of Transport started to implement existing practices English language requirements For truckers last summer. Concerns about the truck driver’s qualifications then became more pressing. An accident in Florida in AugustA truck driver made an illegal U-turn, killing three people. Transport Minister Sean Duffy said the driver from India should never have had a licence.
Inspections in every state uncovered numerous nonresidential commercial driver’s licenses that remained valid even after an immigrant’s work permit had expired or were issued without proper verification of citizenship status.
Since then, nearly 26,000 drivers have been taken off the roads for failing to demonstrate English proficiency and the Department for Transport said 30,000 commercial licenses had been revoked because they were issued illegally. Federal government tried to halt millions of dollars in highway funding California And new York Because it did not comply and revoked thousands more licenses, this situation ended up in court. Some other states – included PennsylvaniaMinnesota and North Carolina – they were warned that they risked losing funds.
“Every day, we are removing more dangerous foreign drivers from our roads and restoring the integrity of America’s trucking industry,” Duffy said. “Our new Freedom Bearers campaign will help build on these successes and spread the word that there has never been a better time for America’s veterans to get behind the wheel of a big truck.”
The federal government is actively enforcing CDL rules
The trucking industry applauded the administration’s efforts to keep unqualified drivers off the road and shut down bogus CDL schools, and companies praised this new effort to get more veterans behind the wheel.
“Veterans make up 15% of our workforce and have the highest levels of leadership, discipline and technical skills necessary for our success. We are committed to providing them with meaningful careers and a supportive environment in which they can thrive,” said Derek Leathers, president and CEO of Werner Enterprises.
Cole Stevens, chief strategy officer for the trucking company that bears his last name, said veterans’ backgrounds make them great drivers.
“Some of the best drivers and industry leaders I have had the privilege of working with are military veterans,” Stevens said. “Their integrity, accountability, and mission-driven mindset make them an incredible asset.”
In addition to enforcing existing restrictions, the government has announced plans to restrict which immigrants can qualify for a non-resident commercial driver’s license and require them to obtain one. Take the exam in English, however, these rules are being challenged in court.
The only immigrant drivers who can get a driver’s license under the new rules are H-2A, H-2A or E-2 visa holders. H-2A is for temporary agricultural workers, H-2B is for temporary non-agricultural workers, and E-2 is for individuals who have made significant investments in a business in the United States.
Immigrants make up about 20% of all truck drivers, but these non-residential licenses for immigrants represent only 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, or about 200,000 drivers.
Some immigrant groups said they believed many drivers were victimized. was unfairly targeted. In the accident in Florida, attention was on the Sikh truckers because the driver’s attention was on the Sikh truckers. another fatal accident In California in October, both are Sikhs.
Driving a truck may appeal to veterans
The Department of Transportation plans to work with the Pentagon and the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor to promote the career field as a good job that offers independence to veterans who do not want a desk job in civilian life.
Veterans still must review the rules and pass a written test for a commercial driver’s license, but recently soldiers who drive large military vehicles weighing more than 2.5 tons (2.25 metric tons) can skip the skills test. More than 40,000 veterans have already used the program, the government said, and it could get them on the road within weeks.
The Department of Transportation said truck drivers now earn an average of $70,000 a year as the trucking market tightens and rates rise.
Veterans who served at least three years can also use money from the GI Bill program to pay for CDL training and may even be eligible for a housing stipend.
