The Department of Transportation has ordered 270 commercial driver’s license (CDL) schools to close immediately, citing widespread violations including the graduation of illegal immigrants and drivers unable to speak English, a move officials say is necessary to protect Americans on the road.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the sweeping crackdown at a Detroit press conference, where he detailed how 110 CDL schools were removed from the federal Training Provider Registry for passing students who could not speak English, while another 160 schools were suspended for failing to meet basic training-facility standards. Duffy said both groups of schools have been ordered to cease operations right away, following months of federal data analysis and collaboration with Homeland Security, federal prosecutors, and an anti-fraud task force chaired by Vice President JD Vance.
Duffy made clear the action targets a pattern of abuse that he claims has endangered the public by putting unqualified drivers, some in the country illegally and lacking English-language skills, behind the wheel of tractor-trailers. “If you’re here illegally and you can’t speak the language and you’re not well-trained, you don’t deserve to be in a big rig, driving American roads, endangering American citizens,” he said. He also emphasized that the English proficiency rule has existed “for decades,” and accused the previous administration of allowing CDL training schools to self-certify compliance, resulting in hundreds of “schools [that] don’t actually meet that standard.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin joined Duffy in Detroit, calling out California in particular as the “worst abusers” under Governor Gavin Newsom and warning that these failures “affect our entire country.” Mullin described a July enforcement blitz that sidelined over 800 truckers in three days, including 36 who could not speak English and 107 trucks operated by drivers whose CDLs were literally marked “No Name Given.” He blamed the prior Biden administration’s lax oversight for enabling “individuals [who] are dangerous,” saying, “because of the failure from the previous administration, from the Biden administration, they killed hundreds of people and unfortunately injured thousands.”
The government’s action comes in the context of a broader push by the Trump administration to tighten immigration enforcement and eliminate loopholes exploited by illegal immigrants, a theme also seen in efforts to strip the 60-day grace period from H-1B and other foreign workers and the executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and birth tourism.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Derek Barrs detailed specific cases that drove the crackdown, pointing to Platinum Plus Truck Driving School in California, which certified 36 drivers who were later cited for English-language violations. “One of these trainees killed someone in Oklahoma,” Barrs said. He also cited ASC Technical Institute in Texas, which certified 58 drivers, including one who “ran a stop sign and killed a local man in a Texas county.” Barrs stated that “every single one of these [110] schools passed at least 10 drivers who were subsequently cited for [lack of] English language proficiency during roadside inspections by law enforcement.”
Duffy said that since the start of President Trump’s term in January 2025, there have been 239 deaths in crashes caused by non-English-speaking truck drivers, and that at the 110 schools just shuttered, 5,000 enrollees were later found unable to speak English. The source also reported the story of five-year-old Delilah Coleman, who suffered a brain injury in a 2024 California pileup caused by Partap Singh, described as an Indian illegal immigrant operating an 18-wheeler.
Officials highlighted that the crackdown was enabled by a new focus on data analysis and inter-agency partnership, with Andrew Ferguson, vice chairman of the anti-fraud task force, calling for aggressive prosecution: “If a school is giving out a CDL fraudulently, you need men with guns and prosecutors to find them, put them in jail, and make sure that they rot in jail.”
Mullin placed special blame on California, stating, “By far, the worst abusers are in California under [Gov.] Gavin Newsom’s leadership.” He described the pattern as one that “doesn’t just affect California. It affects our entire country.” The claims come as Trump’s team has escalated its use of executive authority to address immigration loopholes, an approach seen in recent executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and birth tourism, and in legal battles over Congress’s role in immigration enforcement.
Mullin also described a crackdown on DMV employees suspected of taking payments from cartels to help illegal immigrants obtain CDLs, saying, “We’re going to prioritize going after employees that are suspected of accepting payments to help illegals bypass driver’s license and CDL requirements.” He added that the probe has uncovered a tangle of related crimes, including labor violations, financial crimes, and drug trafficking “all associated with CDL businesses.”
Duffy criticized the previous administration’s policy of allowing truck driving schools to self-certify their compliance with federal standards. “What we found is many of those schools don’t actually meet that standard,” he said, insisting the Trump administration would not tolerate “schools that know the rule and still pass people through their school who can’t speak the language.” The government is now requiring all CDL schools to demonstrate compliance, with immediate shutdown for those that fail.
The focus on closing self-certification loopholes and ramping up enforcement is consistent with Trump’s broader executive action strategy, which has included high-profile legal battles and direct intervention after court setbacks. Trump’s willingness to escalate to the Supreme Court when faced with opposition is part of a pattern of decisive, top-down enforcement.
Homeland Security and the anti-fraud task force made clear they are not stopping with the schools themselves. Mullin said the government will “prioritize going after employees that are suspected of accepting payments to help illegals bypass driver’s license and CDL requirements,” targeting not just fraudulent schools but also corrupt DMV workers and criminal networks. Ferguson added that strict prosecution, including jail time, is needed for those enabling fraudulent licensing.
While officials cited data showing tens of thousands of CDL schools nationwide, with 270 now shut down or suspended, they argued these steps are only the beginning of a renewed effort to restore integrity to commercial driver licensing. The message: only those who are lawfully present, English-proficient, and properly trained will be allowed to drive America’s trucks.
This crackdown lands alongside recent actions from the Trump administration tightening rules on foreign workers and citizenship, including executive orders on birthright citizenship and immediate removal efforts.
For the people who share the roads with these trucks, this is how law and order is supposed to work: leaders taking action, closing loopholes, and putting the safety of American citizens above special interests and political correctness.
