Washington (TOI): The United States has suspended the issuance of work visas for commercial truck drivers with immediate effect, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday, citing road safety concerns.
“The rising number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailers on American highways is endangering lives and undercutting American truckers,” Rubio posted on X.
The decision comes in the wake of a deadly Florida accident involving Harjinder Singh, an Indian-origin driver who allegedly made an illegal U-turn on August 12, colliding with a minivan. Three people were killed, including a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach and a 54-year-old man from Miami.
Federal officials said Singh had entered the US illegally via Mexico and failed an English-language test after the crash. He now faces three counts of vehicular homicide. Florida officials, including the lieutenant governor, personally oversaw his extradition from California with federal agents.
The case has ignited a political standoff between the Trump administration and California’s Democratic leadership. Trump officials blamed Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration for granting Singh a commercial license, while Newsom’s office countered that his work authorization was issued under Trump’s watch and that California fully cooperated in the extradition.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is probing the crash. He emphasized new enforcement of stricter English requirements for truckers, calling the Florida tragedy “a preventable crash caused by reckless decisions and compounded by systemic failures.”
The crackdown follows Trump’s April executive order mandating that all commercial drivers demonstrate English proficiency to operate in the US. “Drivers must be able to read road signs, communicate with officers, and interact with employers and customers in English,” the White House said then.
Meanwhile, the State Department confirmed that it is reviewing the records of over 55 million visa holders for potential deportation over overstays, criminal offenses, or suspected links to terrorism.
