Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data cited in 2025 indicated that immigrants who hold commercial driver's licenses accounted for roughly 5% of all commercial driver's licenses but about 0.2% of all fatal crashes.

A 2025 proposed U.S. Department of Transportation rule would restrict immigrant eligibility for commercial driver's licenses to holders of H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visas, require states to verify applicants' immigration status in a federal database, and make such licenses valid for up to one year or until an applicant's visa expires.

In 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) withheld over $40 million in federal funds from the state of California after a federal probe found California's commercial driver's license (CDL) program failed to comply with English Language Proficiency standards.

English Language Proficiency standards are part of the federal requirements applied to state commercial driver's license (CDL) programs and are enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The SAFE Drivers Act, as proposed in 2025, would require states to submit annual reports to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) detailing the number of prospective, successful, and compliant CDL applicants.

A 2016 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration memo instructed inspectors to issue warnings and citations to commercial vehicle drivers who did not meet English proficiency requirements instead of placing them out-of-service.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data shows that immigrants hold about 5% of all commercial driver's licenses and account for approximately 0.2% of fatal crashes involving commercial drivers.