U.S. Suspends Visas for Foreign Truck Drivers Following Fatal Accident

Immediate Visa Suspension Announced

The U.S. government has swiftly stopped the issuance of visas for commercial truck drivers, as declared by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday. This decision comes amid rising criticism from President Donald Trump's supporters after a tragic accident.

Rubio announced on social media, "Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers."

He emphasized that the growing presence of foreign drivers behind the wheel of large trucks poses a risk to American lives and threatens the jobs of domestic truckers.

Background of the Incident

This directive follows an incident in Florida where a truck driver was charged with causing the deaths of three individuals in a highway collision while making an illegal U-turn.

The driver, Harjinder Singh, originally from India, reportedly entered the U.S. unlawfully from Mexico and failed an English proficiency test after the incident, according to federal authorities.

Political Ramifications

The case has garnered significant media attention and has been politically leveraged in Florida, where Trump's Republican Party holds power. The lieutenant governor even traveled to California to oversee Singh's extradition with immigration officials.

The political landscape has shifted as Singh was granted his commercial license in California, a state governed by the opposing Democratic Party, which has resisted Trump's immigration policies.

California Governor Gavin Newsom's office clarified that Singh had a work permit issued by the Trump administration and that the state had cooperated in his deportation.

Ongoing Legislative Efforts

Even before this incident, Republican lawmakers had been targeting foreign truck drivers, citing an uptick in accidents, although they lacked evidence linking these incidents directly to immigrant drivers. In June, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mandated that truck drivers must be able to communicate in English.

In the U.S., truck drivers are required to pass a test for a commercial license that assesses their ability to understand basic road signs in English. However, a 2016 guideline from former President Barack Obama, which Duffy later rescinded, prevented authorities from removing drivers solely based on language proficiency issues.

Statistics on Foreign Truck Drivers

Federal data indicates that the number of foreign-born truck drivers in the U.S. has more than doubled from 2000 to 2021, reaching 720,000. Currently, foreign-born drivers constitute 18% of the trucking workforce, reflecting a shift in a profession traditionally associated with the white working class.

The majority of these foreign drivers hail from Latin America, with significant numbers also coming from India and Eastern European nations, particularly Ukraine, according to industry sources.