Republican Bill Takes Aim At Democrat States Giving Truck Licenses To Illegal Aliens

Several Republican lawmakers are expected to introduce a bill on Thursday aimed at stopping illegal aliens from getting licenses to drive commercial trucks in deep blue regions.

Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr has partnered with Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee to advance legislation that would authorize the Trump administration to crack down on states found to be granting Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) to illegal aliens, according to documents reviewed by The Daily Wire.

Under the legislation, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would have the authority to revoke a state’s ability to grant “non-domiciled CDLs,” or commercial licenses for applicants who live out of state, if the state were found in violation of federal rules around CDLs.

“By issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants, states like California are undermining federal law and endangering public safety,” Barr, who is running to succeed Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, told The Daily Wire. “Our bill restores accountability by strengthening President Trump’s authority to hold liberal states in check when they defy federal law and recklessly grant CDLs to illegal immigrants.”

The bill would also standardize some rules about the CDL process by requiring all testing to be conducted in English and that all CDL applicants hold a driver’s license for at least one year.

“For everyone’s safety, you must be able to read and understand English road signs when operating a commercial vehicle. Our bill would require commercial drivers to pass the test given in English,” said Cotton in a statement.

Duffy has taken action to clamp down on California’s CDL program after authorities say an illegal alien trucker caused a wreck in Florida that killed three Americans. The trucker, Harjinder Singh, obtained a CDL most recently in California and allegedly caused the wreck after attempting an illegal U-turn. Singh is believed to have illegally entered the United States in 2018.

The Transportation Secretary has targeted California’s federal funding. On Wednesday, Duffy’s department announced that it had revoked over $40 million in funding for California from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Duffy slashed funding for the deep blue state after the Department of Transportation investigation into California’s CDL program found that more than a quarter of non-domiciled commercial licenses issued by the state were improperly awarded.

While Duffy can revoke funding, the Republican-led legislation would give the Transportation Secretary further authority to pull a state’s ability to issue commercial licenses altogether.