Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about 1,500 truck drivers who do not speak English are off the roads in the first 30 days of a law that Obama ordered ignored. It was a safety issue.
The 1,500 drivers were taken off the roads within the first 30 days of the rules once more being enforced, according to The Daily Signal.
Personally, I want Americans to have these good jobs, not people here illegally.
“Since I took action to enforce language proficiency requirements for truckers, our state partners have put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service. That’s what I call results!” Duffy posted on X.
“If you can’t read or speak our national language — ENGLISH — we won’t let your truck endanger the driving public.”
He added, “America First = Safety First.”
Since I took action to enforce language proficiency requirements for truckers, our state partners have put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service. That’s what I call results!
If you can’t read or speak our national language — ENGLISH — we won’t let your truck endanger… https://t.co/TKPcn60ic2
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 30, 2025
Duffy’s concerns were real: In one accident in 2019, a driver who couldn’t read the warning signs killed four people.
It was insane to have non-English speaking people on the road. It is also unacceptable to give American jobs to people who don’t belong in the country or don’t care to learn our language.
Duffy Signs the Order
On May 20 of this year, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean P. Duffy signed an order at a trucking event in Austin, announcing new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. Failure to comply with ELP requirments means loss of the job.
“America First means safety first. Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs. This common-sense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
The President Signed the Executive Order in April
This new guidance is in line with the President’s April 2025 Executive Order to strengthen highway safety by ensuring that all commercial drivers are properly qualified and proficient in English, our national language.
In April, lawmakers, led by Harriet Hageman, asked Secretary Duffy to bring back the ELP requirements.
And in April, Secretary Duffy had announced steps to rescind a dangerous Obama-era policy that dismissed ELP requirements for CMV drivers.
In 2016, the Obama administration directed inspectors not to place CMV drivers out-of-service for such violations. The failure to adequately enforce driver qualification standards poses serious safety concerns and increases the likelihood of a crash.
By June 25, 2025, ELP standards were back in place. One month later, 1500 unsafe drivers were off the roads.