The suspension of employment visas for commercial truck drivers issued by the government of President Donald Trump is the last of a series of White House measures to restrict the immigration of foreign workers, which causes fear among those already within the United States.
The State Department arrested last Thursday the issuance of labor visas for foreigners seeking to become drivers of commercial trucks in the US.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, attributed the suspension due to the “growing number” of foreign drivers operating with trailer trucks on the roads of the country that, he said in an X publication, endangers the lives of Americans and undermines the support of truck drivers born in the United States.
“The government is being very unfair because many of us have been driving on US roads for years helping the country, we work in the pandemic leading goods and at that time we did not take the work to anyone,” says Efe Salvador, a Salvadoran immigrant who did not want to reveal his surname for fear of reprisals.
The driver who is protected by the temporary protection status (TPS) says that he fears that the White House will seek to revoke his commercial license, leave him without work and can even end up deported.
Immigrant’s fear is not unfounded, and the government has issued a series measures to limit the work of truck drivers in the country. Since June, the US Department of Transportation requires an English test for cargo conductors, in compliance with an executive order signed by President Trump in April.
Commercial driver immigrants returned to the public focus after an accident that occurred on August 12 that resulted in the death of three people in St. Lucie County (Florida).
The Indian immigrant Harjinder Singh tried to turn in U without authorization through exclusive access for official use of the county authorities while driving an 18 -wheel truck, which made a minivan in which three people were traveled to be trapped, and died due to the impact.
Singh, 28, had a commercial driver’s license issued in California, thanks to the fact that it had a valid work permit issued by federal authorities.
According to the Department of Internal Security (DHS), Singh entered the US, along with his brother, by the southern border on May 15, 2023. Both were released to present their cases in front of an immigration court and were granted the work permit.
The driver was arrested and accused of three charges of vehicular homicide, and his brother, who was traveling with him the truck, was arrested by the immigration authorities for deportation.
Singh failed a competition exam in English when officials of the Department of Transportation interviewed him after the accident.
The immigrant “provided correct answers to only two of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identifying one of four road traffic signals,” the authorities delved.
Immigration lawyer Alex Gálvez believes that after this accident the immigration authorities will begin reviewing the driving licenses granted to immigrants who only have work permits.
“This accident put all immigrant drivers under the magnifying glass,” he told Efe Gálvez. The jurist’s concern is that in the authorities they will not focus only on the truck drivers who recently obtained their licenses but in all.
“This sows another negative narrative against the immigrant community,” warns the lawyer, who has his practice in Los Angeles.
The suspension ordered by the Trump government was supported by the American Association of Trucks (ATA) stating that the issuance of commercial driving licenses to non -American citizens “requires rigorous scrutiny.”
