The Trump administration has helped cancel more than 28,000 commercial trucker licenses (CDLs) held by non-citizens and is also launching a program to replace the migrants with U.S. military veterans.
The administration recently posted a press release reporting that officials have worked with their counterparts in the states to completely cancel the CDLs of 24,000 non-citizens who cannot speak or read English proficiently. They have also worked with the states to cancel 28,000 illegally issued drivers licenses and to shut down 9,500 driving schools that have helped put these dangerous truckers on America’s roads.
“DHS [Department of Homeland Security] will be a force multiplier of our efforts to clean up America’s roads. President Trump is using every lever at his disposal to ensure the safety of American families,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said.
“Too many American lives have been lost in completely avoidable accidents because illegal aliens have been granted commercial driver’s licenses to drive trucks and 18-wheelers on America’s roadways,” added DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “DHS law enforcement is partnering with the Department of Transportation to eliminate CDL fraud, strengthen the integrity of the CDL system, and investigate commercial driver’s license schools throughout the country. This is a whole of government approach, to keep America’s roads safe.”
This means that there are nearly 30,000 truckers no longer available to deliver America’s goods to the market, of course, and the administration has also proposed a way to remedy that sudden dearth of drivers.
At the end of July, Trump announced the “Freedom Haul” initiative to replace illegal alien truckers with U.S. military veterans.
The president said the initiative will make those who have driven a heavy truck for the military automatically eligible for a commercial driver’s license within two years of the end of their service.
Trump added there will be an expedited system for veterans who were not truck drivers in the military.
“They’re going to be given a very quick pass. We’re going to teach them. They’re going to learn,” he said, adding he believes they will be licensed within weeks.
In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the removal of CDL training providers from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Training Provider Registry for failing to equip trainees with the Trump Administration’s standards of readiness. As of July, nearly 10,000 schools have been removed.
In February 2026, USDOT announced that more than 550 sham CDL training schools found in violation of the FMCSA’s standards of safety received notices of proposed removal from FMCSA’s national training provider registry.
These campaigns are part of the Trump administration’s “ongoing efforts to root out fraud from American trucking and restore integrity to the industry,” DHS added.
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