Texas Suddenly Decides Some Truck Driver Licenses Are Now Worthless If You’re A Non-Citizen

Texas halts CDL and CLP issuance for DACA recipients, refugees, and asylees.
About 3 percent of Texas-issued CDLs are non-domicile under federal rules.
Trucking groups back the suspension citing safety after recent fatal crashes.

Truck drivers nationwide are facing more scrutiny than ever. The Texas Department of Public Safety is now stepping up after an emergency rule change from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Put simply, certain groups of immigrants, including refugees, asylees, and recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, are about to have their driving plans put on pause if not halted for good.

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Starting September 29, DPS stopped issuing commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and commercial learner permits to the affected groups. The suspension covers new applications, renewals, and reissuances for non-domicile CDLs, effectively blocking non-citizens with legal presence in the U.S. from securing or keeping these credentials. Even applications that were already in the pipeline are being canceled.

Safety Cited as the Trigger

Federal regulators say the shift stems from a nationwide audit and what they described as a”recent series of horrific fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled drivers.” The FMCSA added that going forward, non-citizens will only be eligible if they meet stricter standards. Overall, the number of drivers affected is relatively small, but the impact isn’t negligible.

Texas Suddenly Decides Some Truck Driver Licenses Are Now Worthless If You’re A Non-Citizen — Mack

According to state data, Texas issued 220,430 CDLs last year. Around 6,265 of those (about 3 percent) were classified as non-domiciled. The Texas Tribune points out stats from the American Immigration Council indicating that refugees make up 1.2 percent of the state’s truck drivers, while DACA-eligible drivers account for 1.1 percent.

Extra Scrutiny in Texas

This latest suspension comes on top of new measures ordered by Governor Greg Abbott earlier in September. He directed DPS to enforce English language proficiency checks for truck drivers, framing the move as a safety issue. “Every commercial driver license operator on Texas roadways must be able to communicate clearly in English to ensure compliance with traffic laws, follow safety directions, and prevent accidents.”

For now, the suspension means thousands of legal non-citizen drivers in Texas, including those who have already been working in trucking, are left in limbo. DPS says it will provide further updates as it works with FMCSA to implement the new federal standards. Until then, both drivers and companies are left weighing what these changes mean for the state’s trucking industry.