“Highway Safety Under Threat: Examining Non-Domiciled CDL Issuance to Illegal Aliens”

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Alright, good afternoon. The Committee on O- Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight Investigations and Accountability will come to order. Without objection, the chair may declare the committee in recess at any point. The purpose of this hearing is to examine how the issuance of nondomiciled commercial driver's licenses to individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States endangers public safety. We are pleased to have an expert

Mister Chairman, I have a parliamentary question. Uh, under class two K one of rule XI, the chair shall announce in an opening statement the subject of the hearing. And under class two K eight of rule XI, the committee is the sole judge of the uh pertinence of testimony and evidence uh adu- adduced at its hearing. In order to judge if these rules could possibly be satisfied today, could the chair please tell us how the topic of this hearing and the testimony of these witnesses says uh accords with the committee's rule X uh jurisdictional statement.

Yeah, overall, you're asking about the jurisdiction of this committee relative to the subject, and given the Homeland Security's oversight of the immigration naturalization elements and how that pertains to ICE, um how that pertains to a number of different issuances, this falls within our jurisdiction as a committee.

Uh, Mr. Chair, uh, per rule X, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over transportation regulatory agencies and roads and safety thereof and transportation safety and transportation labor. Any bills to improve highway safety would need to be considered and voted on by that committee. Uh, I want it on the record before we start that this hearing is really about nothing more than scapegoating immigrants. for the president's economy, which is running off the road.

Uh, in response, I'm gonna just read to you something so everyone can be clear why we have jurisdiction. While DOT is the primary federal regulator of CDLs, DHS plays a critical role in granting work authorizations and immigration benefits through US citizenship and immigration services. Working with DOT to verify lawful presence in the country and tasking ICE to arrest and remove deportable aliens who are encountered in the course of commercial vehicle enforcement, particular through two eight seven agreements with state and law enforcement. Since September of twenty twenty five, ISIS partnered with state highway patrol agencies in several states to conduct joint enforcement operations, targeting illegal illegal aliens, operating commercial motor vehicles, resulting in significant arrests and taking unsafe drivers off the road. Compliance additionally, compliance with Real ID, Requirements is also a major security concern as some states have issued CDLs, clearly failed basic verification safeguards, including an instance where the ID listed its holder as quote " no name given", in my home state of Oklahoma this was discovered, for a license that allowed the holder to operate a commercial driver's license. The Real ID Act of two thousand five passed following the recommendations of the nine eleven commission established new standards for identification documents such as driver's license, as a way to verify the identity and check the backgrounds of individuals in any vulnerable facilities, especially in the transportation system. And as someone, myself, who has a class A CDL, I understand the danger when someone has a hazmat endorsement and eighty thousand pounds used as a chemical bomb. This is absolutely under the jurisdiction of this committee.

Well, Mr. Chair, uh, If I may.

The gentleman's not been recognized. Um, if the gentleman has a follow-up, I will recognize him. You are recognized.

Thank you, sir. Uh, chairman, uh, the DOT alone regulates licenses regarding regardless of immigrant immigration status. Look, every collision is a tragedy, but it is already illegal and undocumented for undocumented immigrants uh to hold a CDL. and nothing the trump administration is proposing which will take lawful drivers off the road will improve highway safety. DOT's rules and GOP bills will actually do the opposite, resulting in more lives lost.

All right, to the ranking member, this is my last statement on this subject. I'm siding from rule X of clause one, the rules of the house. Number three, functions, committee on homeland security. Number three, part of its functions, functions of the Department of Homeland Security relating to the following, border port security, B, customs, C, integration, E, research development, five, or F, transportation security. All right, with that, um, we will continue. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good afternoon again. Thank you for joining us today. Today the subcommittee will examine a serious growing threat to public safety and the rule of law. The issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver's license to illegal aliens unlawfully present in the United States. Commercial truck drivers are the backbone of the American economy. Every day they transport food, fuel, medicine, and other critical supplies all across the United States. and enable everyday life to continue without disruption. Currently, federal law, individual states are responsible for issuance of CDLs, but they must do so in strict compliance with the standards set by the Motor Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The FMCSA requires that for a state to issue a nondomiciled CDL, they must require the individual be legally present in the United States, and meet minimum standards for testing, identity and verification. The FMCSA also recognizes that non-citizens have a basic understanding of the English language to read and understand road signs. Yet recent Department of Transportation audits have revealed alarming failures by many states to comply with these requirements. For example, in Illinois, one in five non-domiciled CDLs failed to meet federal standards. Last November, the Department of Transportation found that California had illegally issued seventeen thousand non-domiciled CDLs, that California had illegally issued seventeen thousand non-domiciled CDLs. A twenty twenty five audit by FMCSA found that over fifty percent of the of the non-domiciled CDLs issued by the state of New York were in violation of federal law. As President Trump highlighted in his State of the Union address last week, this issue has seen real and devastating consequences. In twenty twenty five alone, at least seventeen fatal crashes, resulting in thirty deaths were caused by illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles with CDLs. One of the most tragic examples was a crash in St. Lucie County, Florida. Lucy County, Florida. Am I saying that correctly, Sheriff? Is that correct? Thank you. Um, an illegal alien from India failed a CDL test ten times in the span of two months. I wanna repeat that. This accident occurred in your county. An illegal alien from India who failed a CDL test ten times in the span of two months in the state of Washington, managed to obtain his license, however, in California, then drove his eighteen-wheeler to Florida and caused a serious vehicle incident after making an illegal U-turn instantly killing three people. These are not paperwork error errors, rather they are system represent systematic breakdowns in oversight that put American families at risk. These tragic incidents were caused by drivers who should never have been entrusted with commercial driver's licenses in the first place. These individuals were unfit to hold that credential, and if states would follow through with standards and laws, they would not qualify them to receive one. The human cost of these failures is painful. Twenty twenty four, five year old Delia Del- Delilah Coleman was nearly killed when a tractor trailer driven by an illegal alien carried a fraudulent non-domiciled CDL directly collided with the vehicle she was in. Following this incident, Delilah endured a coma and months of hospitalization and had to relearn how to walk, talk, and eat. Her recovery was nothing short of a miracle. While I am grateful that Delilah is making progress in her recovery, it must be clear this tragedy should never have happened. When the rules that protect the public are treated as optional by certain states, innocent people like Delilah pay the price. You do not have to be a scholar to understand what a bad actor could do with a forty-ton tractor-trailer, especially one hauling hazardous cargo onto highways. In the wrong hands, that vehicle is not just a truck. It's a weapon capable of threatening public safety and national security. This trend is a direct consequence of former President Biden's open border policy. President Biden claimed to have created more than eight hundred and seventy thousand new CDL non-domicil- CDL holders in his first year in office, the non-domiciled element absolutely a part of that. eight hundred and seventy thousand in one year. In contrast, the Trump administration has been working diligently to combat this issue, taking several critical steps in recent months to restore accountability and compliance with federal laws. This includes a final rule issued in February by the Department of Transportation, significantly tightens eligibility standards for receiving non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security has increased its coordination with many states, looking to crack down on illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles, launching several successful operations in Indiana and my home state of Oklahoma, also Texas, and Wyoming to name a few. Finally, some states, like Oklahoma, have taken steps to introduce legislation to combat this problem. Model legislation, in May of last year, Oklahoma passed the Oklahoma Secure Roads and Safe Trucking Act, authored by State Senator Kendall Sacriri and State Representative Jonathan Wilk, which increases the threshold of nondomiciled CDLs and requires that an individual provide proof of foreign citizenship and valid work visa and demonstrate English language proficiency. It's my hope that all states follow the st- the footsteps of Oklahoma as they look to solve this issue. Just as a side note, as uh, Mister Tipton is gonna testify here shortly, five hundred, five hundred people were uh, positioned to be removed, found in a September analyzation of a way station's Western Oklahoma I-forty of being in violation of FMCSA. five hundred in Oklahoma in a in a very short time frame showing how people coming through this our state following suit of this uh change of statute is something that every state ought to be looking to replicate, every governor, because of the tens of thousands of these commercial truck drivers that are on the roads coming through your state. Although we are right in previous wrongs, we must remain vigilant. We must make sure the states enforce the law, keep license of the hands of unqualified.

Uh, thank you, uh, Chairman. Uh, good afternoon to all. This past weekend, a convicted felon with bone spurs illegally attacked Iran, launching a pro- protracted war of regime change. President Trump callously said, and I quote, " We may have casualties that often happen in wars." Dismissing the over one thousand lives lost thus far, including six American service members and hundred and seventy-five at a girls' school. The Republican-run Congress sat idly by, rather than returning to Washington to claim the war powers granted to it in the Constitution. And this subcommittee, rather than focusing on how Trump's war threatens the homeland, is holding yet another hearing on demonizing hard-working immigrants. I am an immigrant who came to this country with very little and worked hard to achieve the American dream. Our country is built on the promise that anyone, regardless of their background, can come here, work hard, and succeed. That is why I am disturbed and offended that the Trump administration is responding to American Truckers United's call to eliminate trucking operators from foreign lands. The Department of Transportation is actively trying to strip refugees, asylees and DACA recipients of their commercial driver's license under the false pretense of highway safety. If DOT is successful, two hundred thousand or five percent of commercial drivers will be removed from the road. We are all highly dependent upon these drivers to move goods across the country, take our children to school, transport commuters, maintain and repair roads, and clear streets after the storm. Over seventy percent of nation's fright movers buy truck. Fright moves buy truck, reducing the number of commercial drivers will disrupt the economy and deepen the affordability crisis that already plagues America. The US economi- no, economy is running out of road. Americans are already struggling to afford groceries. medicine and other goods because of Trump's tariffs. Fewer drivers also means fewer school buses, mass transit services and snow ploughs. Daily life will get harder except for the men in the Fsteen files who fly in luxury jets to private islands. Replacing two hundred thousand experienced CDL drivers will with less experienced drivers, who statistically are more prone to accidents, will reduce safety. Rather than pursuing sensible solutions to prevent collisions, such as requiring speed-limiting technologies in trucks, the Trump administration would rather punish immigrants who have a safe driving record than US citizens. Immigrants with non-domiciled CDLs have invested significant resources to satisfy the training, skills, knowledge test, and requirements applicable to all individuals seeking to hold CDLs. It is already illegal to issue CDLs to undocumented migrants And federal law requires commercial motorway operators to be proficient in English, including highway, traffic signs, and signals. Enforce the existing laws, but do not strip immigrants who are here legally of their livelihood which will harm the US economy and reduce public services. I thank Miss Liu uh for joining us today and look forward to her explaining how she is fighting the trump administration's illogical attempts to change the eligibility rules for cdl's uh thank you mr. chair and i yield back

alright thank the ranking member uh other members of the committee are are reminded opening statements may be submitted for the record i am pleased to have a distinguished panel of witnesses before us today And pursuant to Committee Rule eight C, I ask our witnesses to please rise and raise their right hands. Um, do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give before the Committee on Homeland Security of the United States House of Representatives will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Uh, let the record reflect that the witness have answered in the affirmative. Thank you. Please be seated. Uh, I would li- now like to formally introduce our witnesses. Um, Mister Tim Tipton is the Commissioner of my home state, of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. He is a nationally recognized expert on police training practices and with nearly thirty-eight years of experience at the department. Um, Mis- Mister Richard Del Toro, Junior is the Sheriff of St. Lucie County, Florida. Prior to his election as Sheriff, Mister Del Toro served as twenty-six years with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, retiring as Chief of Police. Uh, Foreign Affairs Chairman Mast was going to try to be here to

Thank you, Chairman Burkeen and Ranking Member Seindor, and esteemed members of the subcommittee. I appreciate the opportunity to share with you the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's experience with the shocking amount of transnational freight being transported by illegal aliens. The month after President Trump took office, ICE announced its task force model agreements. These agreements allowed state and local officers to become credentialed to enforce immigration laws during routine law enforcement encounters. OHP immediately joined and rapidly sent all seven hundred thirty of its officers through the ICE credentialing process. With every Oklahoma trooper now having an ICE credential, we've been given a unique and firsthand view of the prolific problem of illegal aliens operating CMVs on our national interstate and defense highway system. By way of a quick example, last September, OHP and ICE conducted a joint emphasis in Western Oklahoma along the Interstate forty corridor. During this emphasis, OHP O H P took ninety CMV operators into custody for immigration violations, aliens from all over Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. This means that in an approximate twenty-four hours of shift work on a random weekday in the middle of our heartland, roughly fifty percent of O H P's CMV encounters resulted in the arrest of an illegal alien. In fact, since late summer of twenty five, twenty twenty five, O H P's taken over four hundred and fifty CMV into custody for immigration violations. Many of these drivers struggle with even basic English language proficiency and likely receive their licenses from an unscrupulous CD CDL mail. Through this experience, OHP has learned of several concerning problems with the federally regulated system for issuance of CDLs. I will share an account of one OHP immigration arrest that highlights these problems. During a joint OHP eye-synthesis, OHP encountered a driver operating an eighty thousand pound semi-truck traveling from California to Missouri. As our trooper was performing a standard CMV inspection, the driver presented a Real ID compliant CDL with the first name listed as no name given. After discovering the driver was an illegal alien, our trooper used his ICE two eighty-seven G credential to arrest him for immigration violations. On many similar occasions we've encountered illegal aliens operating with facially valid CDLs, CDLs with expiration dates far exceeding the alien's temporary immigration status, CDLs not being labeled non-domiciled as required by FMCSA regulations, and Real IDs being issued to illegal aliens, including Real IDs listing uh listed only a first or last name. OHP's experience corroborates the FMCSA's recent policy position. that an employment authorization document or an EAD is an inadequate qualifier for an alien to operate in this highly regulated critical infrastructure industry. FMCSA's recent rulemaking on nondomiciled CDLs represents a practical and effective solution to many of these problems. However, challengers have already filed suit to upend FMCSA's new rules. I urge Congress to support this rulemaking effort and to pass any legislation that may be necessary to respond to judicial challenges. That leaves the concerns about Real ID_s being issued to aliens as a t- with a tenuous immigration status. I'm surprised and concerned about the temporary aliens being granted Real ID_s. As you're aware, the purpose of a Real ID is to serve as a gatekeeping function into federal facilities, commercial airline travel, and even nuclear facilities. However, the r- the however, the authorizes issuance of Real ID_s to aliens with nothing more than temporary visas, pending applications for asylum, or temporary protected status, or even a deferred action status, which is merely a parole into the US. In view of the ca- in view of the gatekeeping function of Real ID_s, I urge reconsideration of the qualifiers for aliens to receive these credentials. Let us not forget that a CDL with a hazardous materials endorsement permits a driver to drive a liquid bomb to virtually any location in America. Nine eleven should remind us how critical it is to safeguard our transportation network. A coordinated nationwide effort enforcement effort is critical to protecting our nation, not only from dangers to the motoring public of unqualified alien drivers but also from potential terrorist threats. Thank you again, Chairman Burkine, Ranking Member Theindor, and members of the subcommittee for permitting me to share with you the experience of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Thank you. Um, I now recognize Honorable Del Toro for uh his five minutes.

Good afternoon, Chairman Brickeen, Ranking Member Thanedar, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today and for your leadership in examining this important public safety issue. I'm honored to serve as Sheriff of St. Lucie County, Florida, and I come before you today with more than twenty-five years of law enforcement experience dedicated to protecting the communities I serve. I'm here today because of a tragedy. On August twelfth, twenty twenty five, three innocent people in my county lost their lives in a catastrophic crash on the Florida Turnpike involving a commercial motor vehicle. The investigation revealed that the driver of that vehicle had previously entered the United States illegally. and was operating with a commercial driver's license issued by another state earlier that same year. For the families of those victims, this is not a policy debate, it's a permanent loss. Commercial motor vehicles can weigh up to eighty thousand pounds. When operated unsafely, they have the potential to cause devastating consequences in a matter of seconds. That is why strong, consistent, and reliable safety standards for commercial driver's licensing are essential to protecting the public. Florida has taken important steps to strengthen verification, improve coordination with federal authorities, and ensure compliance with federal standards. However, when these standards vary between states, those inconsistencies can create vulnerabilities that place our communities at risk. My purpose in appearing before you today is not to assign blame, but to share the reality that I've witnessed as Sheriff and to support efforts that enhance public safety, strengthen accountability, and prevent future tragedies. Highway safety is not a partisan issue. It is a public safety responsibility. The American people expect and deserve confidence that every individual operating a commercial motor vehicle on our roadways has met the highest standards of qualification training and verification. As sheriff, my oath is to protect life, and I'm here today to help ensure we do everything possible to uphold that responsibility. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to answering your questions, sir.

Thanks, Sheriff. Uh, Miss Liu for your opening statement.

Good afternoon, Chairman Burkine, Ranking Member Tanidar, members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am Wendy Liu, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group, the litigating arm of the non-profit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, which was founded in nineteen seventy-one. The litigation group represents the petitioners challenging the rule recently issued by the Trump administration that would prohibit documented immigrants from holding commercial driver's licenses, even though they have legal authorization from the federal government to work jobs in the United States. As we all agree, highway safety is of critical importance. Trucking crashes on the nation's roads cause serious injury and take many lives, each one a tragedy for family and friends. For that reason, Public Citizen has for decades advocated for strong rules addressing the hours of service that truckers may drive each day or week, and for meaningful truck driver training. Limitations on driving hours and requirements for training are proven measures to improve highway safety. But barring people with lawful work authorization, who have obtained their commercial driver's licenses by completing the required training and passing the required tests, including tests administered in English, will not make our roads safer. Doing so will replace more experienced drivers with less experienced ones and potentially increase the number of fatigued drivers on the road. It will exacerbate a well-documented need for truck drivers in the industry. It will harm the economy by increasing costs during an affordability crisis. And it will harm state and local governments and the people they serve who depend on these drivers for essential public services, including public transportation, school buses, highway and road maintenance, utility services, and disaster response. Importantly, under current law, no undocumented person, no illegal alien can hold a commercial driver's license. Every DACA recipient, SILE, asylum seeker, person with temporary protective status, or refugee who holds a nondomiciled commercial driver's license has been issued a work permit by the Department of Homeland Security's US Citizenship and Immigration Services authorizing that person to work in the United States. And every person issued a commercial driver's license in this country, non-citizens and citizens alike, must go through the exact same training and pass the exact same tests. And every truck driver with a commercial driver's license must demonstrate English proficiency. They must be able to read and speak English sufficiently, to converse with the public, understand highway traffic signs and signals, and respond to official inquiries. These requirements likely explain why the Trump administration has no data showing that non-citizens cause more crashes than US citizens. And although the Department of Transportation has identified seventeen examples of crashes in twenty twenty five that it says likely involved a non-citizen there are on average four thousand fatal crashes every year. Seventeen is less than one percent of that number, meaning that over ninety-nine percent of fatal crashes are caused by US citizens and lawful permanent residents. according to the Department of Transportation's own data. Every fatal crash is a tragedy. But prohibiting documented immigrants from driving trucks and buses will not improve highway safety. It will harm our economy. It will disrupt and curtail essential public services provided by state and local governments. And it will destroy the livelihoods of thousands of individual drivers and their families who depend on these licenses to pay for groceries, utilities, and other basic expenses. My organization has been inundated with emails and messages from people across the country who are terrified, because losing their license would mean losing their sole or primary source of income and their ability to continue providing for themselves and their family. These are people who have lived in the United States for years or decades, and who have built careers based on their ability to have a commercial driver's license. They include DACA recipients, who have been living in the United States ever since they were small children, who have no memory of any other country, who have driven trucks safely for years and who have met every single requirement that has been asked of them. They are workers, small business owners, dedicated family members, and contributors to the US economy. All they ask for, as one DACA recipient put it, is the opportunity to continue working, to continue providing, and to continue living productively in the only country that they have ever known as home. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

Thank you, Miss Liu. Um, I'm now gonna, instead of going through ranking order, I wanna represent, recognize Representative Fong, given a time limitation on his part. Representative Fong, you are uh uh now given five minutes, I think you have may have a special guest, also as a part of your opening statement.

Uh, thank you, Mister Chair. This is a a very uh important hearing that we're having and uh it's very personal to me. I have the honor of introducing I know they're they have to catch a flight uh later this afternoon but we have uh I think the chair uh read the story of of Delilah Coleman uh who was in a horrific uh uh car accident uh with a with a um someone who was here illegally uh uh who obtained an illegal CDL um in California but Delilah here is now seven years old uh she's in the audience here uh with her father Marcus and uh her mother uh uh her mother mother Eliana who I think they just got engaged at the White House uh last week if you saw the video so they are from bakeries hill california my my uh hometown and so just wanted to make sure uh to recognize them and put a face to this issue and the family to this issue as well uh if the gentleman just yield quickly thank you all for taking the time to be here we are so grateful to see her in such good health please continue so i i want to applaud um the family they've taken a a preventable tragedy in a in a horrific um uh situation that has affected them and uh made it their cause uh to make our roadways safer um and it's uh worth uh uh noting again and i'll reread the the the um the details that the chair uh mentioned in his opening statement in june twenty twenty four in san bernardino county california uh five year old delilah coleman and her stepfather michael uh were seriously injured in a multi-vehicle pile-up caused by an illegal driving a commercial eighteen-wheeler who sped through a construction zone and failed to stop for traffic. Delilah suffered lifelong injuries, in- including ser- cerebral palsy, developmental dis- uh delays, and loss of speech, and she has now uh worked very hard to relearn how to walk. The driver who illegally entered the United States in October of twenty twenty-two was released under the Biden administration uh and held a California-issued CDL. This preventable tragedy forever alt- altered Delilah's bright future. Uh, uh i had the chance to meet with the lila and her family to discuss the lila's law uh the the uh the uh uh uh legislation that they are working to uh introduce and to um pass that would require states to limit trucking licenses to us citizens and lawful permanent residents and certain work visa holders and number two revoke all trucking licenses currently issued to illegal migrants as a condition of receiving funding from the department of transportation i did wanna ask uh mr. tipton What is your ass- your assessment on the role states have in preventing future tragedies by non-domiciled CDL drivers?

So, I g- I think it's a multifaceted role that the states can play. O- one is, uh, working with ICE in these two eighty-seven G, uh, task force models, which allow for state and local law enforcement to be able to, uh, verify immigration status. Um, the problem that we run into on the on roadside is that the person that we're talking to may have a facially valid CDL, end date, and uh and when you run that CDL through our law enforcement network system it comes back as valid. But then when we check on the immigration status, they're the they're they're not here legally. Now they may have originally crossed the border. I I'll tell you my experience, I've interviewed many of these folks have we as we've taken them into custody, they've under the former administration, they would cross the border, be detained, be released, and given, you know, an employment authorization document at that time. So now that they've got this document in hand, they can then go to a truck driving training school, one of these CDL mills, get a certif- a certification, in in many instances obviously not be able to pass the certification because they can't speak English efficiently to be able to pass, and then go get a a uh CDL. So on its face value it looks like they're they're valid, but unless you have the authority and the ability to work with uh ICE and verify their immigration status you don't realize that they're here illegally. Um, so I think working that that's step one, states have to work with uh, with the federal government in order to be able to take adequate enforcement.

So that leads to my next question, and and and it refers to sanctuary state policies. In California, unfortunately, we are a sanctuary state. Uh, I opposed it when it was moving to the state legislature, um, but can you so, uh, I I think what you've outlined is when a CDL is issued in one state, that driver is allowed to operate across all fifty states. So if if California applies a weaker CDL standard, that, uh, creates a public safety risk for the other states. Is that correct?

Absolutely, across the board. Um, you know, we m- And of course, I live in a state that we call it the Crossroads of America, I-thirty-five that runs from Mexico to Canada, I-forty east and west coast, and then I-forty-four, and those all interchange in in Oklahoma City. And so the amount of nationwide over the road trucking that comes through our state is is a massive number. So we see it routinely that other states that don't apply the same type of standard, yeah, those those drivers are gonna be coming right through Oklahoma.

Thank you. I I appreciate the chair's flexibility. Uh, thank you and thank you, Delilah, and and the Coleman family for being here. Uh, you're all an inspiration to us. Thank you.

Great. The gentleman yields. I now uh recognize Representative Thanedar for his five minutes question.

Thank you, Chairman. Truckers move nearly three quarters of the country's freight, making them an indispensable part of US supply chain. Without truckers, there would be no food on grocery store shelves, products at big-box stores, or fuel at gas stations. Nearly twenty percent of truck drivers in the US are immigrants. just as they make up twenty percent of overall US workforce. And they often do the demanding and dirty jobs no one else will. These drivers have invested significant time and resources into their careers as commercial drivers. And many of them have accumulated decades of experience. But now, the Trump administration is unlawfully attempting to strip some of their, these immigrants of their commercial licenses and their livelihood. This will not only create undue hardship on their families, but it will also further harm the US economy. President Trump's economy is not the greatest ever in history, as he claims. Much like his tariffs, the president's immigration dragnet is fueling affordability crisis. Miss Liu, can you please explain how the Department of Transportation's actions to restrict immigrants' eligibility for commercial driver's licenses will harm the US economy?

Thank you for your question. Prohibiting documented immigrants from having commercial driver's licenses will increase costs in the middle of an affordability crisis. Trucks are the main way goods are moved across this country. Approximately seventy-three percent of freight by weight is moved along America's highways from consumer products to food to construction materials. There is a well-documented need for truck drivers in this country. Industry has reportedly estimated a shortage of tens of thousands of truck drivers. The Trump administration's exclusion of documented immigrants from the truck driver workforce would force two hundred thousand experienced drivers out of the market shrinking the existing workforce by five percent. That will disrupt supply chains, delay the delivery of goods and materials, and increase rates for freight operations. Already news reports say that the cost of a single freight trip from New Jersey to Texas has gone up by more than thirty-five percent, because of a national shortage of immigrant truck drivers.

Th- thank you.

Thank you so much. Uh, Mister Chair, I seek unanimous consent to add to the record a letter from Teamsters California opposing DOT's rule prohibiting most non-citizens from obtaining or renewing their CDLs.

Without objection, sold.

In addition to the vital role truckers play in the US supply chain and economy. They also play a crucial role in providing public services to our communities. They drive the school buses that take our kids to school, operate ploughs to clear snow during blizzards, and run the mass transit system commuters rely on to get to work, just to name a few. Oh, Miss Lou, Uh, nineteen attorney generals oppose Trump administration's efforts to take commercial driver's license away from immigrants because of the negative impact on public services in their states. Several local governments and government leaders who support the ongoing litigation uh shared similar concerns. Can you please walk us through how the Department of Transportation's rule would reduce and degrade essential public services.

Thank you for your question. Prohibiting documented immigrants from having CDLs will disrupt and curtail essential public services. These governments depend on drivers to drive buses for schools, mass transit systems to transport people to work, to operate construction vehicles, to maintain and repair roads. With fewer drivers, these services will be disrupted and public safety will be harmed. For example, a shortage of snowplow operators, means that a local government will not be able to treat the roads, resulting in more hazardous driving conditions and increasing crashes. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Miss Liu, I'm out of time, so I yield back.

Thank you, gentlemen. Yields, I now recognize Representative Van Epps for his five minutes of questioning.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, for holding this immensely important hearing and to our witnesses for joining us. Highway safety impacts Americans every day. States like California that refuse to enforce driver's license standards putting every driver and passenger on the road in danger. When even one unqualified driver is handed a commercial driver's license, the danger does not stop at a state line. It puts every highway and every family on the road at risk. And the reality is, this is not about a singless, single reckless driver. It is about tens of thousands operating nationwide. Last year in my home state of Tennessee, the Biden administration granted a non-English speaking illegal alien work authorization allowing him to obtain a commercial driver's license. This man went on to cause a multi-vehicle crash, killing one and injuring two others. These senseless deaths must stop. I'm extremely proud of what the Tennessee Highway Patrol has accomplished, working with DHS to get dangerous illegal aliens off our roads and keep our community safe. But this issue has to be fixed across the board. And whether it be fraud or sheer negligence, we cannot tolerate sanctuary cities giving licenses to unsafe drivers. Sheriff Del Toro, we have heard about the tragic vehicle incident in St. Lucie County, Florida, involving an illegal alien from India carrying a non-domiciled CDL, killing three people. While we recognize this remains an active and ongoing investigation, can you share any further details with us in how this incident has impacted your county?

So it's impacted our county in a very tragic way by the loss of three lives. And it was an illegal U-turn in the middle of our Florida turnpike, and really for no reason. There was no emergency that was ahead. It was just an illegal U-turn where completely unsafe maneuver uh caused three people who were traveling close to eighty miles an hour to go underneath the back of that truck, and lose their lives. So it's impacted our community in a big way. It was a national story, obviously because of the fact of the non-domicile CDL issue by an illegal immigrant that came over the border. I believe in two thousand eighteen was issued a notice to appear uh for that violation. Um and then as the chairman stated had failed a test in the state of Washington, I think believe ten times before obtaining it in California. So it shed a big light on things and I think one of the things that we have to do as public servants and elected officials is identify problems and come up with ways to solve those problems I believe the chairman mentioned there was two hundred thousand CDLs issued to illegal immigrants. Um, and we all agree that illegal immigrants by the law are not allowed to obtain these non-domiciled CDLs. So what can we do to solve that problem? And I think Florida has taken a big step, uh, towards that, and I'd like to just share with you a few, uh, key components to some changes that they've made, uh, regarding non-domiciled CDLs.

Please.

So, Florida only issues licenses to drivers who are in the country legally. Licenses issued to non-citizens with temporary legal presence, non-domiciled, are valid for a year or the last date of the customer's legal status, whichever comes soonest. For each license issued to non-citizens, Florida verifies electronically electronically with DHS and the save system that the customer had legal presence in the United States. We then scan and maintain all documents presented by the driver to establish their identity and legal status, and these documents are available in our David system. All issuance involving drivers with temporary legal presence, non-domiciled, are conducted in person. If a non-citizen is only allowed to be in the U S on a temporary basis, we place the words temporary on the front of that driver's license, and that is due to federal Motor Vehicle Carrier Safety Administration rules updates and Florida will also begin printing the words non-domiciled on the license, moving forward. The written CDL knowledge test was previously provided in Spanish and English with private approval from the FMCSA however Florida recently changed its policy that all driver's license testing includes class C or class E, correct? must be taken in English only. The behind-the-wheels CDL skills test is also provided uh in English, as required by FMCSA regulations. And at the request of FMCSA, Florida paused all issuance of CDLs to non-dimension drivers on November twenty four twenty twenty five and plans to resume issuances after the new FMCSA rules become effective in mid-March this month. So this isn't to hurt anybody that's here legally in our country. Um, it's just a v- way to vet it out, increase our standards, which is I think is our responsibility as elected officials to protect the public and enhance roadway safety.

Thanks Sheriff, and thanks for being here today. Uh, Mr. Chairman, I'm out of time. Yield back.

Gentlemen yields, I now represent uh recognize Representative Strong for his five minutes of questioning.

Thank you, Mr. Ch- uh, Chairman Rekind. I thank each of our witnesses for being here today for the work that you do to keep America safe. Uh, this hearing is about a simple uh issue, when Americans share the road with a commercial vehicle, they should be confident that people behind the wheel are properly vetted, lawfully authorized and qualified to operate a commercial vehicle. I speak firsthand. I held a commercial driver's license with a passenger endorsement because my family owned a fleet of forty-five foot Prevost buses that traveled throughout this country for more than forty years. without a chargeable accident. Last year, uh, you'd think, uh, the last thing you would want is someone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle that doesn't understand the laws of the land, don't understand turning radiuses, don't understand stopping distances, and, uh, they've gotta respect the laws of the land. That's assimilation to the United States of America. Under the previous administration, Enforcement gaps allow fraudulent documents and stolen identities to slip through the cracks, leaving states to deal with drivers who never should have been behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle. In my home state of Alabama, joint enforcement actions recently removed dozens of unsafe truck drivers from the highways including individuals with no valid license at all. Unfortunately, not all states share the same sense of urgency in taking action. Commissioner Tipton, in your testimony you confirmed that states are encountering fake documents, identity fraud, and completely invalid license being used to obtain or attempt to obtain CDLs. Alabama's uh Alabama's experience shows that targeted coordination between state law enforcement and federal partners is is crucial to identifying and removing unsafe commercial drivers from the roads. And you've described a similar effort in Oklahoma. How essential is that kind of strong routine coordination between state law enforcement and federal partners to effective CDL oversight and highway safety?

Thank you for the question. Um, again, it goes to every area of state coordination with the with the f with the federal government um at the at the issuance at the uh at the certification of schools who put on this training and the uh the ability to uh ensure that the training is of quality and that the the people who pass that training do understand the rules of the road and and can read road signs and all the things that you just explained on the enforcement side of it, um we would not be able to do this work if it wouldn't be for the partnership that we have with the federal government. I'll I'll tell you what we're seeing now. We've ran, I believe, five special emphasis at our ports of entry. um over the past nine months are one of our so we did one out west that I spoke of earlier. We then went to the eastern side of the state on I-forty at the Oklahoma uh Arkansas border. Within minutes of us setting up and starting our operation, my intel analyst were seeing social media posts all the way out to the North and South Carolina coast. telling people Oklahoma's doing it again, go around Oklahoma, don't go through Oklahoma if if if you're if you're driving a truck and you're not here legally, cuz they knew that we were working with ICE. So now we're combating it to where they're gonna either divert around our state, or they're gonna hold in another state until we're not out working. So I believe it's incumbent upon us to work in a coordinated effort across multiple states at the same time same type of operations. if you really wanna get a true uh enforcement and and and make some true action on this.

That's the greatest greatest compliment your state can get, is that they're enforcing the laws. When your d- um Sheriff Del Toro, when your deputies stop a commercial vehicle uh and discover licensing or identity issues that doesn't just raise uh paperwork concerns it creates a real safety, risk on the roads. Uh, is that a true statement?

Yes, sir.

theme we've heard today is that verification matters, whether it's verifying identity, legal eligibility or basic qualifications before someone is trusted with a serious uh uh serious responsibility. The House has twice passed the Save America Act, which focuses on requiring voter ID to ensure only US citizens participate in federal elections. I was proud to vote in favor of that legislation. Sheriff Del Toro From a public safety standpoint, do you agree that the same common sense principles apply here, that verifying identity and eligibility before granting access, whether to a ballot or an eighty thousand pound commercial vehicle is uh far safer than trying to fix the problem after the fact?

Yes, sir.

Mister Chairman, my time has expired. I yield back.

Uh, gentlemen yields, I now recognize myself from my five minutes of questioning. Um, I want to, uh, say how excited I am that the uh Trump administration has taken this issue very seriously, and on February thirteenth of twenty twenty six how the Department of Transportation did issue a final rule that will restrict the issuance of non-domicile CDLs to foreign drivers and that will raise the eligibility standards to prevent these unqualified drivers and these bad actors we're not talking about those that are here legally, we're talking about those that are in violation of FMCSA federal guidelines, the CDL issuance is not to be taken lightly. Again, you can weaponize, especially with the hazmat endorsement, you can weaponize an eighty thousand pound rig. For those in the trucking industry, um, for those of us that had to learn to drive a semi and downshift, and and now that the innovation of automatic transmissions are out there, it's making the type of driver that is sitting in a semi not as educated on downshifting and how far you have to pace off of someone in front of you. And if you're a truck driver, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And so there's a heightened safety element that has to be uh adhered to. And the fact that we're hearing about these CDL meals that may be lacking not only basic instruction to make sure people can read in English the road signs, and know that there is a sign that says your speed in a work zone, and they would otherwise, if they didn't underst- the ability to read that, would only see a number flashing at them. There's some real critical elements that being able to read in English is going to create havoc if we don't understand this. And it's much, much, much far and sur- surpassed me of that. Um, what can we be doing to any of the witnesses? Uh, I'm gonna zero in with you, Mister Tipton, because you've been paying attention to other states like Oklahoma. What, what can we be doing on a federal level, outside of what the president, his administration has been doing? I know that uh Representative Rausser has a a measure that could be codified. What else can we do, we be doing on the federal level?

Again, as I mentioned earlier, you know, I think that already suits have been filed against the new upcoming rules that FMCA is gonna implement this month. Um, I I think it's such a critical area that an employee authorization document is not sufficient to be able to then turn around and and go get a CDL. It does not uh and and it's obvious that the crackdown on the CDL mills, the schools that are supposedly safely training these these folks, when when when I when I when I encounter when our troopers encounter someone who has supposedly passed a test, has their CDL and and um obviously can't s- read and speak English and understand the rules of the road, uh those schools have to be have to be shut down.

Absolutely.

Uh I'll t- I'll tell you it in and this is in my experience um with what I've seen in in in interviewing these people who are driving these trucks as we take them into custody I believe there is there's been coordinated effort to bring people to the southern border under the last administration get them through the border, get them an an EAD issued,

Yeah.

they go to the school and get this certificate, and then go to a state yes.

Eight hundred and seventy thousand new CDLs issued under Biden's first year. The fact that we know fifty percent of those who have obtained a CDL in the state of New York are fraudulently, uh, they're they are they are illegally here, they are not in compliance, fifty percent of what New York has issued. seventeen thousand people with CDLs have been granted them in violation of federal statute in the state of California. Um, what else can we be doing on the state levels? What I'm excited about is the opportunity for governors, state lawmakers, to have heard this hearing, understand what the Trump administration is doing. These thousands of commercial truck drivers, as you said, they're getting on social media and saying bypass Oklahoma, bypass Indiana. They're taking this thing seriously because they're working with ICE. What would be your message? Cuz you're gonna have the sanctuary type states that are going to, and I'm grateful to an administration saying, you're gonna do this in violation? Get ready. Federal highway funds could be your loss. That is the right thing to do. The federal law has to be followed because national security is at risk here as well. What would be your comments to any state governor, in a red state, that would be willing to bring ICE in, let them work with their OHP, their their their highway patrolman, like you did, you all did, in making sure that they were an education. But making sure the database of who who's here illegally, that if twenty states were doing this, what could that do to expedite getting these people caught and off the road?

It can be done in such a short amount of time, because they're moving every day across the country. I think Oklahoma is a model example of when state and local law enforcement work with ICE. There's not chaos. There's not all of this uproar. Oklahoma, across the the year twenty-five, we ranked in the top three month to month on how many illegal, criminal aliens we removed from our state, from from from the country. We ranked in the top three. You don't see all the chaos, and it's due to that cooperation. So for the safety of everybody involved, both the motoring public on the CMV issue, the the potential terrorist type threat, you know, you and I come from a state, we understand what truck bombs can do. And and uh

That's good.

f- for the the safety of everybody involved, the cooperation with ICE is critical and can be done in a calm, legitimate, legal way.

Um, with that my time has expired. I want to just because we've had I think we've come in under time, is there anyone else? Representative Thandar, Representative Van Hepps, would you have an additional question that you would like to ask, given our panelists are still here, and either one of you?

I'll I'll ask one more, Mr. Sheriff,

Go ahead, Mr. Harris.

if that's if that's okay, just to follow up on that on that last point, uh, to Commissioner Tipton and and Sheriff, um, commercial drivers have access to ports, energy facilities, military bases, and hazardous materials routes. How does your state conduct enhanced vetting for sensitive cargo?

I can't speak to how they vet out um cargo at ports. Uh, I've never worked down near one. Um, but I can tell you though as far as the the vetting of drivers that needs to happen. Um, and and that's why it's so important that uh Florida's taken the step to vet these drivers that are getting these non-domicile CDLs are done in person. They verify with our federal partners. We're no longer working in silos. Um, and I'm sure they're doing that as well with with cargo as well. So I think it's just an important thing to recognize uh the changes we've made in Florida. Uh, and moving forward, I think we need to see more of that. Um, especially with, uh, can I just touch real quick on the Real ID, um, in the the the two thousand five act,

Please.

where the states still have the right to issue licensing, but in order to meet federal standards, um, they have to meet certain standards to be recognized federally to get on a commercial aircraft, transporting hazardous materials. That's why I think it's so important, um, just that simple act itself could really help in in raising the standards up for these states, where they can still do the license issuing, But they have to meet some federal standards, which could include in-person vetting, uh their immigration status, working with the states, working with our federal partners to ensure that, to insure uh insure safer roadways.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Uh, following the theme of the line of the digital question, Representative Thanador, you're recognized.

Thank you, Chair. Uh, is it true that the standards for commercial driver's licenses for US citizens and permanent residents are identical to the standards for non-domiciled commercial drivers' licenses. That is documented immigrants who are authorized to work in the United States.

Can you repeat the question, sir?

It's just a yes or no question.

I I know.

Are the are the standards the same as they are for the US citizens uh drivers or permanent resident?

Yes. Correct.

Yeah, okay. Uh, and is it also true that the requirements to obtain commercial driver's license are extensive in that applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency, demonstrate thirty different vehicle inspections, control and driving skills, and demonstrate their knowledge in twenty general areas, and consent to alcohol testing. Again, that's

I can only speak for the state of Florida, but that is correct in the state of Florida.

All right. Given the standards and requirements are the same across the board, can you please explain to me how the Department of Transportation's rules restricting commercial drivers' licenses to people with H two A, H two B, and E two visas, and stripping it from refugees' asylees, and DACA recipients improves highway safety.

Because there's obviously gaps in these these standards because people that are here illegally have obtained these licenses as well. So I'm I'm not trying to shed any negative light on anybody here that's here illegally obtaining these or differences between whether you're a citizen, permanent resident. Um those standards I think are the same in the state of Florida. Um but the one thing we're not seeing in the state of Florida is licenses being issued to illegal immigrants because of our vetting process, and I

Miss Liu, what's your uh answer to that?

Thank you for the question. Um, that's right, the standards are identical for uh US citizens, lawful permanent residents, documented immigrants alike. Regardless of citizenship or immigration status, all drivers must demonstrate English language proficiency, demonstrate thirty different vehicle inspection control and driving skills, demonstrate their knowledge in twenty different areas. Um, it it would not improve highway safety to prohibit documented immigrants from holding these licenses. In fact, forcing two hundred thousand drivers out of the market and depleting the workforce by five percent, will make our roads less safe by replacing experienced drivers with less experienced ones and increasing driver fatigue for the drivers remaining on the road. Moreover, there is no data the Trump administration has no data showing that non-citizens cause more crashes than US citizens. They have conceded that there is no empirical relationship between a person's nation of domicile and safety outcomes. And according to the Trump administration's own data, there are approximately four thousand crashes on average in a year, of which seventeen were caused by a documented immigrant. That means more than ninety-nine percent of crashes are caused by US citizens and lawful permanent residents. If the concern is that states are improperly issuing licenses, to people who do not in fact already meet the existing requirements, about training, English, testing, then the solution is to tighten the administrative steps to make sure that licenses are going to people who in fact do satisfy all of the requirements. But excluding documented immigrants from being truck drivers altogether would harm highway safety, destroy the livelihoods of thousands, increase costs during an affordability crisis, and disrupt essential public services.

Thank you so much. So looks like uh we can look at the statistical data. We can look at total number of uh commercial drivers. We can see what percent of them are uh the immigrants that uh this law is trying to change. And if you look at all of the uh you know, fatal accidents that happen, how what percent of those are committed by uh the immigrants? And it it it from what you're telling me, it seems like uh uh uh you know most of the ninety-nine percent of the uh collisions, accidents are as a result of uh uh by US citizen drivers or permanent resident drivers. Is that true?

Uh, thank you for the question. The Trump administration has identified seventeen examples, as I said, of documented immigrants who've caused fatal crashes, but there are over four thousand in a year, so that's less than one percent meaning the other, the vast majority is caused by US citizens and lawful permanent residents.

Thank you. Gentlemen, his time has expired, he yields, so I just want to follow up, and this is more than anecdotal. Um, again, going to the theme of a lot of additional time for questions is, a tragic example, Sheriff Del Toro, is the individual who made the U-turn, the, he was here illegally, he failed his commercial driver's license ten times in a matter of two months, then yet goes to the state of California, obtains his commercial driver's license, and immediately, uh, within a short, very short term time frame, it leads to the tragic end that you know of in your county.

Correct.

So, if someone's not willing to concede that the the lack of speaking English, the lack of skill is evident. And really zeroing in on California and Pennsylvania and New York. New York who's failing, uh fifty percent of their CDL non-domiciled we know are here illegally. Uh, our attention needs to be really be focused there. And again, carrot and stick, federal highway transportation funding, I am so grateful to an administration who means what they say and is willing just to to follow suit when there's a lack of adherence. Um. Mr. Tipton, in Oklahoma, I find it interesting that when you all s- begin to lead on this issue, we're not just talking about, um, limited to the border of with Mexico, shared by the United States. These are the individuals you all found that were operating with these commercial truck drivers. Uh, India, uh, U- Uzbekistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba, Guatemala, Venezuela. Is that accurate?

Yes, sir. It was from around the globe.

And and it's not just the dan- not just the national security element. It's also if you're willing to skirt the law, it tells you something about your character. If you're willing to c- have compromise in one area, you'll compromise in another area. And so, I'm grateful, I see in the audience, another person from Oklahoma made me heightenedly

Absolutely.

Can you explain that? Can you expound upon that?

It's it's I don't know how else to explain it other than it looks like a well-organized method of circumventing whether it be insurance, um uh you know, how they got the job, how they were brought into the country.

'Kay.

So it's a it's a well-organized and and and l- let me also say this. I'll I'll use this as an example. While one of my troopers is is out with a truck doing an inspection at a way station, on one of our emphasis. At the same time, another trooper has a van, a passenger van stopped with, I believe, eight people inside of it, none of whom could speak English. None of them had their any type of identification on them. The driver in the semi that was stopped behind them had all of the passports of the folks that were in the van. We've we've we've found people who have active investigations and warrants

Um

for human smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, assault, driving under the influence, and a and failure to appeal or appear in court. So, this is this is a even larger public safety issue when we let unvetted, untrained, unskilled people in these operate these vehicles.

I would just say this and I'm gonna land the plane. This is not just public safety. It's not just national security. It's also, for those in the trucking industry who understand how expensive insurance is, it's also those that would game the system, that would undermine um legal process of being legally operational and find foreign actors to work with them, whether it's to modify their logs, their time logs, to make insurance, to obtain insurance fraudulently, moving, moving insurance from one vehicle to another, therefore undercutting someone, a US citizen, someone who ha- has been established for years, trying to operate legally. Now they're having to compete with that full measure of someone operating underhanded and under the table. There's a full can of worms here that is yet to be fully explored. I'm grateful to you witnesses for helping us uh get a a greater look. I'm grateful to President Trump mentioning this to his State of the Union address, this is something that has to be uncovered to a greater level. Um, I want to thank your witnesses for your testimony. Members for their questions. Members of the committee may have some additional questions for the witnesses. We would ask the witnesses to respond to these in writing. Pursuant to Committee Rule seven E, the hearing record will be open for ten days. Without objection, this committee stands adjourned.