Most Americans know about foreign-born drivers illegally obtaining a CDL, allowing them to push 80,000-lbs. of steel and freight around US highways. Many times, these "drivers" cannot read English, and from personal experience, we can state that "rules of the road" are also foreign to them.
Why? Look to the Obama/Biden administrations.
These are not only Mexicans, either.
...[Cliff Bates] uncovered what he describes as a “new ecosystem” of trucking — powered by fraudulent CDLs, English-language-proficiency (ELP) loopholes, and a massive wave of non-domiciled foreign drivers — that he believes could permanently alter freight economics in the U.S.
“We’re living in a new ecosystem,” Bates told FreightWaves in an interview. “You’ve got foreign companies bringing in drivers who live in their trucks, don’t go home, make a fraction of what American drivers make, and undercut every rate.”...
Another individual examining the situation is Grace Maher.
... Maher said her concern is that national debate is fixated on Spanish-speaking or border-state drivers, when the more impactful trend is the rise of transient drivers from Eastern Europe, South Asia and Central Asia.
“This isn’t just about language, it’s not just guys coming across the Mexican border,” she said. “It’s drivers flying into Kentucky from Uzbekistan or Serbia, or into Chicago. That’s the part nobody is talking about.”...
The industry's numbers are bad. It's not just that tonnage is down; the collapse in rates (revenues) is very serious.
...Bates said he traces the problem back to a “perfect storm” of federal policies, including the 2016 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration memorandum that told states not to place non-English-proficient drivers out of service, as well as the White House’s claim in 2021–2022 of creating more than 870,000 new CDL holders — without explaining who those drivers were. ...
...“The federal government’s own website showed almost half a million new drivers added during what’s supposed to be a recession,” Bates said. “It didn’t make sense — until you look at non-domiciled CDLs.”
A recent Department of Transportation audit revealed at least 200,000 such licenses have been issued nationwide. The proliferation of non-domiciled CDLs has coincided with an increase in trucking capacity across the U.S. Since the FMCSA permitted foreigners to obtain non-domiciled CDLs in March 2019, the industry has added more than 310,000 trucks to roads across the country....
Trump--and his boy Sean Duffy--are not helping at all.
...Bates said the Trump administration has since banned states from issuing new non-domiciled CDLs — but continues to allow existing ones to remain valid.
“Why are you willing to jeopardize American lives by leaving them on the road?” Bates said. “If you know they’re unsafe, ban them.”...
Trump & Duffy will have to answer to their malfeasance.
Obama and Biden? They won't answer to anyone for anything. They are Protected Class.
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