New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday announced the Trump administration’s decision to suspend the issuance of new worker visas for foreign commercial truck drivers, days after an Indian driver was charged in connection with a deadly highway crash in Florida.
“Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers. The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio posted on X Thursday.
This comes after Harjinder Singh, a commercial truck driver, was arrested for allegedly making an illegal U-turn that caused multiple fatalities in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Singh faces three counts of vehicular homicide.
Several media houses, including Fox News and Reuters, reported that Singh hadn’t passed his English language and road tests before obtaining a commercial driver’s license.
Later, the Department of Homeland Security alleged he was in the country illegally.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Tuesday that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had opened an investigation into the crash, which has reignited debate over road safety and the role of foreign workers across the country.
The transport secretary has since said that failing to properly enforce driver qualification standards poses serious safety concerns and increases the likelihood of such crashes in the future.
The Trump administration has steadily moved to tighten restrictions on commercial driving. Earlier in April, Trump signed an executive order requiring all truck drivers operating in the States to demonstrate English proficiency, the country’s official language.
“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the White House had said in the statement.
“Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English”, it added.
Most foreign commercial drivers in the US are employed under the H-2B visa program, which allows local businesses to bring in foreign nationals to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs if they meet certain regulatory requirements.
The State Department Thursday also said it is reviewing the records of more than 55 million visa holders to identify potential deportable violations, including criminal activity, visa overstays and involvement in terrorist activity.
The government had also revoked 6000 student visas earlier for ‘overstaying’ and alleged ‘criminal activity’.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)
It is next to impossible for lorry drivers to follow traffic rules in India, where implementation is poor. I wonder how they survive as lorry drivers in developed countries where traffic rules are strictly enforced.
What will the Khalistanis do now? Driving trucks in the US/Canada is their most favoured occupation. This also provides a very convenient cover for their extensive drug trafficking operations.
What will Gurpatwant SIngh Pannun do now? Or for that matter the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ)?
Thanks Trump!
Excellent news indeed! Kudos to President Trump!
Half the Khalistani diaspora in USA will be unemployed now.