Arguments over non-domiciled CDL rule fly at House hearing

Supporters of a federal rule to restrict the use of non-domiciled CDLs say it’s about safety and national security. Opponents contend the rule “demonizes” hardworking immigrants and that crash statistics don’t justify the rule.

Both sides were represented at a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, March 4.

Citing a federal audit that determined a large number of non-domiciled CDLs were issued in such states as New York, Illinois and California, Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., said action needs to be taken to ensure public safety.

“You don’t have to be a scholar to understand what a bad actor could do with a 40-ton tractor-trailer, especially one hauling hazardous cargo onto highways,” Brecheen, the House Oversight, Investigations and Accountability Subcommittee chairman, said during his opening remarks.  In the wrong hands, that vehicle is not just a truck. It’s a weapon capable of threatening public safety and national security.”

In February, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a final rule that projects to take nearly 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders off the road. Under the rule, an Employment Authorization Document would no longer be enough to obtain a non-domiciled CDL. Additionally, asylum seekers, asylees, refugees and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients would be ineligible.

Tim Tipton, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, testified that the non-domiciled CDL system allowed unqualified drivers to obtain a license.

“The Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s experience corroborates the FMCSA’s recent policy position that an Employment Authorization Document is an inadequate qualifier for an alien to operate in this highly regulated critical infrastructure industry,” Tipton said. “FMCSA’s recent rulemaking on Non-Domiciled CDLs represents a practical and effective solution to many of these problems.”

Opposing view

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., said removing 200,000 CDL holders will actually hinder safety as it will force the industry to replace experienced truck drivers with new ones.

“Every collision is a tragedy, but it is already illegal for undocumented immigrants to hold a CDL,” Thanedar said. “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.”

On behalf of truck driver Jorge Rivera Lujan, the Public Citizen Litigation Group sued FMCSA over the non-domiciled CDL rule. Rivera Lujan is a DACA recipient who has been in the U.S. since he was 2 years old. He has been a truck driver for 11 years and owns a trucking company.

Wendy Liu, an attorney for Public Citizen, testified that the U.S. Department of Transportation has no data showing that non-citizens cause more crashes than U.S. citizens.

“Although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has identified 17 examples of crashes in 2025 that it says likely involved a non-citizen, there are, on average, 4,000 fatal crashes each year,” Liu said. “Seventeen is less than 1% of that number.”

FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL rule is set to take effect on March 16. LL