New Delhi: US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a plan to remove undocumented immigrants from commercial truck-driving jobs and replace them with American military veterans, escalating his administration’s immigration crackdown on an industry heavily dependent on foreign-born workers.
Speaking at a White House roundtable in Pennsylvania Wednesday, Trump claimed that undocumented drivers lacked the language skills and qualifications required to operate commercial vehicles safely.
“They can’t read signs. Many of them are on drugs, or alcohol and they shouldn’t be driving these things. They came in totally illegally. We don’t want them but they are driving all over American roadways,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks come as the administration has increased scrutiny of commercial driving licences, English-language proficiency, and the immigration status of those working in the trucking sector.
“We are going to replace them with proud American veterans,” Trump said. “We’re going to say any American who has driven a heavy truck for our military will automatically be eligible for a commercial driver’s licence,” he added.
The administration has yet to clarify whether automatic eligibility would mean receiving a licence immediately or merely allow qualifying veterans to bypass certain training or testing requirements. It has also not released detailed criteria or explained how it intends to identify and remove undocumented drivers currently working in the sector.
Trump’s announcement follows renewed debate over road safety after Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr. was struck and killed by a commercial vehicle on 1 July.
Pahira, 44, was conducting a commercial vehicle inspection when a tractor-trailer left the roadway and caused a fiery collision. The trooper was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The truck driver was identified as an unlicenced and undocumented immigrant and was reportedly charged with vehicular homicide, manslaughter, and other offences.
The administration has used such crashes to argue that states must apply stricter standards while issuing commercial licences, particularly to foreign nationals.
Why Punjabi truckers could be affected
The proposed crackdown is likely to impact those within the Indian diaspora in the US, particularly among Sikh and Punjabi communities that have built a substantial presence in the American trucking industry.
Figures from the North American Punjabi Truckers Association indicate that between 1.3 lakh and 1.5 lakh truck drivers working in the US come directly from Punjab and Haryana. The association also estimates that Punjabi and Sikh drivers account for about 40 percent of the trucking workforce on the West Coast of the US, and around 20 percent nationwide.
Many are legal residents or US citizens and would not be directly covered by a measure targeting undocumented workers. Nonetheless, community organisations fear that the policy could lead to wider inspections, immigration-status checks and increased scrutiny of Punjabi-owned trucking companies, driving schools, and licence holders.
The trucking sector has long offered new immigrants a route to stable employment and business ownership, particularly in California and other western states. Any broad enforcement campaign could therefore affect not only drivers without legal status, but also families, transport companies, and local economies closely connected to the Punjabi trucking network.
The announcement also comes amid concerns about shortages in the US trucking workforce. Removing experienced drivers without an adequate replacement pool could raise freight costs and disrupt supply chains, even as Trump presents the plan as an opportunity to expand civilian employment for veterans.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: US suspends visas for foreign truckers after Indian driver kills 3 in Florida