Federal Government Targets Foreign-Born Truckers

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subpoenaed the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators on August 12 for personal information records on 17 million drivers dating back five years to assess the immigration status of drivers, threatening to cut all federal contracts if the information is not provided.

22 states—all but one led by Democratic mafia governors—filed a lawsuit the following day to block the effort. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the subpoena while the lawsuit proceeds.

The subpoena comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) carried out the second wave of the multi-agency “Operation Highway Shield”. Between July 28-30, federal agents detained 137 foreign-born commercial truck drivers and placed 766 drivers and vehicles out of service across the Midwest. The federal authorities also seized nearly $1 million in alleged “stolen cargo”.

The first wave of the operation was launched in March, with federal agents detaining 77 drivers and 176 drivers being taken out of service in Florida.

In April 2025, Trump issued an executive order requiring truck drivers to be “proficient” in English, following an executive order the previous month designating English as the official national language. The order is to be enforced via roadside inspections, and “proficiency” to be independently determined by inspectors. The new policies restrict the use of translation aids and scripts, which drivers have previously been allowed to use to communicate with officials.

According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, since the April 2025 executive order, the DOT revoked over 30,000 commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) in “non-compliant states”—targeting the Democratic mafia as part of their imperialist rivalry—removed nearly 10,000 CDL training providers from the federal registry, and placed over 26,000 drivers out of service for failing English Language Proficiency tests.

Similar restrictions have been placed on Mexican railroad workers, which business unions like the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and SMART-TD have lauded as an improvement to railroad safety, pitting foreign-born and domestic workers against each other.

The federal attacks on foreign-born truckers and the contradictions between the two party mafias comes amid debates among monopolists on how to address the economic crisis of overproduction.

Last year, the American Trucking Association (ATA) urged lawmakers to reduce the age required to operate commercial vehicles, claiming there is a driver shortage in the industry. The Democratic mafia has been more amenable to this view, with the Biden administration launching an apprenticeship pilot program allowing 18-year-olds to drive commercial trucks across state lines.

On the other hand, monopoly magazine Freight Waves claimed there are too many drivers and that the English-language requirements will address the industry’s excess.

Both complaints reflect the common aim of the monopolists to create a cheaper labor pool alongside overwork and layoffs.

Image: Diesel trucks at the receiving station at BSA Randolph auxiliary airfield in Seguin, Texas. Credit: U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Chad Chisholm.


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