The Trump administration immediately suspended all worker visas for commercial truck drivers on Thursday following a deadly highway crash in Florida that killed three people, marking the latest escalation in the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the freeze on X, stating that “the increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers”.
Fatal Crash Triggers Policy Response
The decision came after a August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike where Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old Indian national, allegedly made an illegal U-turn in his semi-truck, causing a collision with a minivan that killed all three occupants. According to federal officials, Singh entered the United States illegally in 2018 after crossing the Mexico border and obtained commercial driver’s licenses in both California and Washington despite being ineligible.
Post-crash testing revealed Singh’s inability to communicate effectively in English. Department of Transportation investigators said he answered only two out of 12 verbal questions correctly and identified just one of four road signs during compliance checks. Singh has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and was extradited from California to Florida on Thursday
Investigation and Industry Crackdown
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigation into the crash, calling it a “preventable tragedy” and describing the trucking sector as a “lawless frontier” under previous policies. The investigation will examine both Singh and his employer, White Hawk Carriers, Inc..
The visa suspension builds on President Trump’s April executive order requiring strict enforcement of English proficiency standards for commercial drivers, reversing 2016 guidance that allowed inspectors to overlook language violations. Since June, drivers failing English tests have been placed out of service
