Originally published at: The Non-Domiciled CDL Crackdown Has Arrived - 13,000 Drivers Out, a National Rule A Few Days Away - FreightWaves
The deadline everyone in trucking has been watching finally arrived. On March 6, 2026, approximately 13,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses were cancelled in California — not by a clean resolution, not by a negotiated agreement between the state and federal government, but by California bowing under the weight of a funding threat it had already…
North American Punjabi Trucking Association CEO Raman Dhillon says "the rates are going to rise " like that’s a terrible thing. Thats great news for the American English speaking trucker. One who has a mortgage and trying to keep up with the rising cost of living and not living in his truck with 4 drivers sending his money back home to another country
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Your being g disingenuous to your readers to blame this on anything BUT immigration. The problem started during the Obama administration. It was confounded tenfold during the Biden administration. Anyone and everyone was allowed to cross the border. These folks were then paroled into the country and given a work authorization document. This document was then used to illegally obtain a CDL. These foreign low wage earners were NEVER entitled to be issued a cdl. It was a loophole that was used to the absolute decimation of this industry. From rates, to insurance cost, to saftey. You name it. This is the best thing to happen to our industry in a very long time. Re-train these folks for jobs in your sector. Freight analytics, transportation topic reporting. I am sure you have room for 200,000 foreign low wage earners in your sector. We don’t mind. Thank you Secretary Duffy for finally putting American drivers and American Companies FIRST. Not behind all this other garbage.
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Exactly 100% correct Ronald, most of the non-domiciled drivers cannot speak or read english, and don’t have any basic knowledge of the skillset it takes to drive an eighteen wheeler, hence all the deadly accidents here in the U.S. Too boot, the fly by night C.D.L. truck mills don’t give these drivers even the basic tools to drive safely. They just pencil whip their C.D.L’s and let them go out and kill people. Thank goodness we have an administration that is now holding these drivers, states, and companies accountable.
Only english proficient legal U.S. citizens that can proficiently pass the permit tests and train with a bonified school or trucking company and pass a driving test in all phases should possess a Class -A- C.D.L. The author of this article and this website are being disingenuous and are lying to the readers. They are boohooing that a foreigner can’t drive. Waaaa, tell that to the people and their families that have been killed by these ill gotten foreign drivers.
Not all affected are non English speaking people who have zero ties to the US or culture.
I went to a large CDL school trained with experienced drivers and logged in 8 plus hours 5 days a week for a whole month before I tested at a dmv. Which I passed with a high score on first try. And no automatic restriction for me.
The current administration wants to bundle us all in the same way. I have an excellent driving record zero violations. A ton of experience.
I’m sure I’ll be back on a truck with my CDL eventually. But I won’t wait either . I suggest folks in the Same situation to do the same and pick a different trade like Me.
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ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
While the FMCSA may have safety concerns related to some non-domiciled CDL drivers – there are many other individuals who have arrived in the US the appropriate way, legally, filling out all of the necessary paperwork prior to & upon arrival, paying required fees, & adhering to ALL rules & laws governed by the US.
Many of these individuals arrived the legal way, adhering to every rule, every policy, and every law – and they have been here for several years with valid EAD status as pending asylees, waiting with the constant fear of the unknown for the approval of their asylum cases so they may be eligible to adjust their statuses to obtain green cards. These CDL drivers are working full-time jobs & building lives here in the US.
These non-domiciled drivers have families, rent, health insurance, car insurance, utility payments, & more – just like any US citizen. These individuals are paying taxes; paying renewal fees for their EAD; paying the recent pending asylum fees; learning our language & customs; abiding by our laws; & doing everything that is required of them to ensure safe and permanent residence here in the US.
So many face the worst atrocities in their own countries due to corruption & danger that we will never fully comprehend growing up in the US where we’ve never had to face anything so horrific. How can the FMCSA simply lump every driver & every lawful immigrant into the same category? How can you not simply grandfather those existing CDL drivers with EAD status who also have good driving records, to prevent them from losing their CDLs & subsequent livelihoods?
How can you penalize those drivers who have done everything required of them – holding them to the same standard as those who have not followed all of the rules & laws? This country was founded by foreign-born settlers, who established our first thirteen colonies & it was built by individuals seeking a place where they could call home, where they could enjoy the benefits of physical, emotional, political, & religious freedom.
Now, in modern society – we have a way to differentiate between those who are responsible & productive members of our community & those who are not. In fact, our DMV system, nationwide has the ability to categorize drivers by their driving & safety record. In some states, if not all – drivers who are doing poorly pay higher insurance premiums & deal with any other necessary penalties or fees, while being incentivized to improve records with safer driving, which would ultimately lower insurance rates as well.
Drivers with exemplary driving records are often awarded w/lower insurance premiums, as applicable by their respective residential states. How can you treat the non-domiciled CDL drivers with less courtesy than our own native-born drivers – if these non-domiciled drivers have good records, are safe, & are following all of the rules & laws of our land that we are following?
EAD pending asylee drivers who have been here for 5 & 10 years or longer, paying taxes to our government, & meeting all requirements are being lumped into the same category as those who are not safe and do not observe the laws here in the US. Does this make any sense at all? No, it doesn’t & the safe CDL drivers who happen to be pending asylees with EAD lawful status should NOT be penalized because our system has allowed them to drop through the cracks of bureaucracy for countless years, while they have continuously contributed to our society in a positive manner.
If you must make stricter rules for inexperienced drivers and hold unsafe drivers w/bad driving records accountable – this is reasonable. BUT ALSO, please recognize those who have followed all of the laws & just want happy & safe lives here in the US – something that many of us take for granted. Please value those individuals & let them keep their CDLs. Please don’t throw these individuals away, simply because you can.
You cannot imagine the stress that many of these drivers are enduring now at the prospect of losing their CDLs, livelihoods, with the domino effect of losing their homes & not being able to put food on the table simply because the FMCSA chose to lump everyone into the same category. This is not who we are as a country. Please don’t change what makes us united with a rule that should not apply to existing good & safe CDL drivers who have only EAD lawful status.
Incidentally, some US states where the drinking age was 18 or 19, chose to grandfather those individuals who were drinking already when those states raised the age to 21. They were not given a right & expected to lose that right because the laws regarding the drinking age had changed. Those who were already drinking were grandfathered. This is how it should be handled for existing CDL drivers who have clean and safe driving records & who have been here for years waiting for their American dreams to become official, while living like Americans in every way other than having the official green card to mark the occasion. Let’s get back to who we used to be as human beings — neighbors and friends who support each other, because there is more than enough room for all of us to thrive and survive