Trump’s veteran-first trucking plan might hit Indian, Sikh drivers in US | World Information
President Donald Trump speaks at the USA Military Battle Faculty in Carlisle, Pa., through the Pennsylvania Protection and Innovation Summit. (Picture: AP) US President Donald Trump introduced that his administration will transfer to take away what he known as “unlawful alien truck drivers” from US roads and exchange them with navy veterans, who would change into routinely eligible for a business driver’s licence (CDL) based mostly on their service driving heavy automobiles.
What did Trump say?
Talking on the Pennsylvania Defence and Innovation Summit on the US Military Battle Faculty in Carlisle, Trump stated the administration would practice veterans and transfer them into trucking jobs, including that many have already got related expertise from their service. He stated the plan would make “any American who’s pushed a heavy truck for our navy” routinely eligible for a CDL. He additionally claimed a number of the drivers being eliminated can’t learn street indicators and advised quite a few them are impaired by medication or alcohol.
.@POTUS declares that any American veteran who has pushed a heavy truck for our navy will quickly be eligible for a Business Driver’s License 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Qen6VIk94Z
— Speedy Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 15, 2026
Why now?
Trump tied the announcement to the July 1 dying of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr., who was struck and killed by a semi-truck on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County whereas inspecting one other business automobile.
The motive force, Michael Bon, a Haitian nationwide who entered the US in 2024 and had utilized for however was not granted Non permanent Protected Standing, has been charged with vehicular murder and involuntary manslaughter. He had been issued a business license in Massachusetts, and ICE lodged a detainer towards him after his arrest.
REPLACE unlawful alien truck drivers with PROUD American veterans.
That is frequent sense. Thanks @POTUS for placing AMERICANS first. Extra to come back. https://t.co/Q0IJmDUhSM
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 15, 2026
The administration has additionally pointed to the March arrest of Sukhdev Singh, a 25-year-old Indian nationwide accused of hanging a pedestrian with a semi-truck in Indianapolis, critically injuring a US citizen. Singh held a non-domiciled CDL issued by New York and was taken into ICE custody following the crash.
The transfer might hit the Sikh group in America arduous. Of the roughly 750,000 Sikhs within the US, an estimated 150,000 work in trucking, and the North American Punjabi Trucking Affiliation estimates they make up about 40 per cent of drivers alongside the West Coast alone.
How huge is the broader crackdown
The veteran proposal follows a collection of restrictions the administration has already put in place this yr. In March, new guidelines took impact limiting CDL eligibility for a number of non-citizen classes, together with many asylum seekers, refugees, DACA recipients, and staff who had beforehand certified by Employment Authorization Paperwork; roughly 200,000 immigrants had business licenses revoked consequently, regardless of having already handed required checks.
Story continues beneath this advert
Classes that stay eligible underneath present FMCSA steering embrace H-2A agricultural staff, H-2B non permanent staff, and E-2 treaty traders.
In April, Trump signed an government order directing the Transportation Division to implement English-language proficiency necessities for business drivers and to evaluate CDLs issued to international nationals. The Division stated in February that no less than 17 deadly crashes that had killed 30 individuals in 2025 concerned non-domiciled drivers who would now not qualify for licenses underneath the brand new guidelines.
Immigrants make up about 18 per cent of the nation’s employed truck drivers, in keeping with the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, and the variety of foreign-born drivers greater than doubled from 315,981 in 2000 to over 720,000 in 2021.
(With inputs from companies)
