A new Federation for American Immigration Reform investigation says foreign nationals who were allegedly ineligible for commercial driver’s licenses were involved in 17 fatal crashes that killed more than 30 Americans last year, raising questions about state licensing practices, immigration status and enforcement of federal English-language standards.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
More than 30 Americans were killed last year in 17 crashes involving foreign nationals who had been issued commercial driver’s licenses despite allegedly being ineligible for them, according to a new investigation examining state compliance with federal trucking regulations.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, documented the cases through public records requests, litigation, state Department of Motor Vehicle data and other targeted research. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, which focuses on immigration policy, published its findings in a report titled “License to Kill: Uncovering the Anti-Borders Takeover of the National CDL Program.”
License to Kill FINAL 8-5-2026 by yourNEWS Media
FAIR contends that inconsistent enforcement of federal commercial driver requirements has allowed foreign nationals lacking valid immigration status or sufficient English proficiency to receive licenses permitting them to operate commercial vehicles weighing as much as 80,000 pounds.
“State agencies charged with implementing minimum safety rules have instead chosen to ignore, dilute, or outright nullify them,” the report states.
California accounted for the largest number of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses cited in the investigation, issuing more than 128,000 between 2022 and 2025.
The state also permits CDL applicants to take tests in Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi, Russian and Spanish, according to the information reviewed by FAIR.
Pass rates varied substantially by language. The report said Arabic-speaking applicants passed at a rate as low as 22%, while Punjabi-speaking applicants had a 26% pass rate. By comparison, the reported pass rate among those testing in English was 63%.
One of the cases highlighted by FAIR involved a 5-year-old California girl who was critically injured and left with lifelong disabilities after an Indian national living in the United States illegally allegedly crashed an 18-wheeler into her family’s vehicle.
According to the report, the driver nevertheless possessed a California-issued CDL.
FAIR also cited a crash in Indiana involving a Kyrgyzstani national who allegedly entered the United States through the Biden administration’s CBP One application. The driver had obtained a commercial license in Pennsylvania before a head-on collision involving his tractor-trailer and a passenger van on State Route 67 killed four people.
Another case involved a Chinese national living in the country illegally who was accused of causing a fatal multi-vehicle collision on a Tennessee highway.
FAIR said the driver had received a New York commercial driver’s license despite a previous incident in which, while operating a tour bus, he rear-ended a tractor-trailer after becoming distracted by a video playing on his phone.
In Florida, FAIR cited an Indian national with a criminal record and unlawful immigration status who held a California-issued CDL.
The driver allegedly made a prohibited U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike, positioning his semi-truck across the northbound lanes. A minivan traveling behind the truck collided with the trailer, killing three people.
“The common threads in these cases are unmistakable,” FAIR wrote. “In nearly every situation, the driver held a non-domiciled or improperly issued CDL from a non-compliant state. English proficiency requirements were routinely bypassed or ignored. Prior violations were overlooked.”
The report places particular emphasis on federal English-language proficiency standards governing commercial drivers.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations require commercial truck drivers to possess sufficient English skills to communicate with officials and understand highway signs and traffic instructions.
FAIR traces part of the current enforcement controversy to a 2016 Obama administration policy that instructed inspectors not to place certain drivers out of service solely for violating English-language proficiency requirements.
The Trump administration reversed that approach last year and restored enforcement of FMCSA English-language requirements, allowing drivers who fail to satisfy those standards to again be placed out of service.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy defended the renewed enforcement on public-safety grounds.
“Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs,” Duffy said when the standards were reinstated.
The English-language issue also extends to cross-border commercial trucking.
Nearly 6 million trucks crossed from Mexico into the United States last year, according to federal border-crossing data.
Federal regulations require commercial drivers entering the United States to be able to read and speak English sufficiently and understand American road signs. The Obama administration’s 2016 enforcement policy, however, directed inspectors not to penalize Mexican drivers solely for failing those language requirements.
FAIR argues that the combination of inconsistent state licensing practices, non-domiciled CDL issuance, immigration-status questions and weakened enforcement of English proficiency rules created preventable risks on American highways.
Its report points to crashes across several states as examples of what it describes as systemic failures rather than isolated licensing mistakes.
The organization’s central contention is that commercial licensing rules intended to establish a uniform national safety standard have been weakened by states that issued licenses to drivers who allegedly failed to satisfy federal requirements.
With commercial vehicles capable of weighing tens of thousands of pounds and regularly traveling across state lines, FAIR argues that failures by a single state licensing agency can create consequences far beyond the state that issued the credential.
The investigation calls renewed attention to whether federal and state authorities are adequately verifying immigration eligibility, driving histories and English proficiency before allowing applicants to operate commercial trucks throughout the country.
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