A spokesman for Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Breitbart Texas that truckers operating commercial vehicles in the Lone Star State should “fully comply” with a presidential executive order requiring English proficiency.
On September 1, Breitbart Texas reported that Texas leads the nation, by a large percentage, of commercial driver’s license holders receiving “out of service” orders for not being proficient in reading and speaking English. Governor Abbott’s spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris, responded to an inquiry from Breitbart, saying, “Governor Abbott expects trucking companies in Texas to fully comply with President Trump’s Executive Order. Public safety is priority #1, and we must ensure that truckers are able to navigate Texas roadways safely and efficiently.”
Mahaleris referred to a presidential executive order by President Donald Trump issued in May, which called for truck drivers with commercial licenses to be proficient in speaking and reading English.
In a Breitbart exclusive by Nick Gilbertson, a White House document regarding the order stated, “President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English.”
Breitbart News has reported extensively on the issue of significant, often fatal, crashes involving truck drivers who cannot pass English proficiency examinations.
American Truckers United posted, “Texas is largely responsible for the truck drivers that don’t speak English on America’s roadways. They are predominantly originating from the state of Texas.”
“The trucking industry in Texas is prioritizing cheap labor by favoring non-citizens over American citizens, compromising safety nationwide,” American Truckers United Spokesman Shannon Everett told Breitbart Texas on Monday. “What starts as a Texas issue becomes a national crisis when drivers from these companies—failing English proficiency standards—are exported across America, demanding urgent intervention.”
However, it appears Texas will not enforce this requirement for truck drivers who drive only within the borders of the Lone Star State, according to a report by WFAA ABC8 in Dallas.
The ABC affiliate reported on an internal email from Texas Department of Public Safety Major Omar Villarreal to commercial vehicle inspectors that said, in part, that English violations and out-of-service orders “will only apply to motor carriers engaged in interstate operations.”
Trucking attorney Lin McCraw told WFAA that this is a policy decision by the state of Texas. “It would require a legislative change, but it’s absolutely something they can do,” she said.
While it is not clear how Governor Abbott intends to enforce compliance with the president’s executive order, his spokesman said he referred the matter to the governor’s executive office for review.
The Texas Legislature is currently approaching the end of a second special session. If the governor calls a third special session to give legislators more time for his agenda, the issue of English proficiency could be added.
Two recent fatal crashes involving foreign commercial driver’s license holders brought the issue to the forefront.
In June, Breitbart’s Warner Todd Huston reported that a Cuban migrant was arrested and charged with five counts of manslaughter after he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into a traffic jam of trucks and cars on Interstate 20 near Wills Point, Texas. The article points out that Sara Fields claimed that Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni did not speak English. That claim was not substantiated in the police investigation.
This crash followed on the tail of another fatal crash near Austin, where Solomun Weldekeal-Araya was also arrested and charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter, Fox 7 in Austin reported.
Fox 7 reported:
The driver of the truck-tractor was detained at the scene after an officer was told by a witness that one of the involved drivers was trying to leave. The officer then saw a man hiding in the private cabin area of the truck and peeking his head out of the curtains.
The driver was detained and identified as Solomun Weldekeal Araya. The affidavit says he spoke mostly Tigrinya, a language spoken in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, but also understood and spoke English.
The affidavit did not state whether the police conducted an English proficiency examination.
Another recent crash in Florida highlighted who badly the lack of English proficiency can impact public safety.
Breitbart’s Elizabeth Weibel reported that a semi-truck driver, Harjinder Singh, who allegedly killed three Americans while making an illegal U-turn, failed an English-language proficiency test by correctly responding to only two of 12 verbal questions. He could also only identify one of four highway traffic signs, according to investigators. The State of Washington issued a “regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License” on July 15, 2023. The State of California issued the driver a “limited-term/non-domiciled CDL” on July 24, 2024. Florida officials described Singh as an “illegal alien from California,” Breitbart reported.
American Trucker United wrote to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking for a ban on non-domiciled CDLs for non-citizens. Everett asked the secretary to restrict foreign drivers to trade zones only.
“Your leadership is vital to ensuring safer commercial motor vehicle operations and equitable opportunities for American truck drivers,” he told Duffy.
“These practices enable unauthorized domestic freight hauling, displace American workers through unfair wage competition, and pose significant safety and security risks due to inadequate driver vetting,” he concluded.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
Read the full article here