Trump Administration Says English Proficiency Is “Non-Negotiable” For Truckers
on May 01, 2025
Trump Administration Enforcing English As Official Language
“Truck drivers form the lifeblood of our economy,” President Donald Trump said on April 16, 2020, when many businesses were still on lockdown from the onset of COVID-19.
Those words from 2020 were delivered outside the White House during an event with the American Trucking Association, and Trump said the American public were all saying, “Thank God for truckers.”
Five years later, Trump is back in office, and he has signed an executive order seeking to improve work conditions for truckers while making the roads safer for everyone.
In an executive order signed on April 28, Trump outlined several areas to bring about change, with the most significant element being the necessity of proficiency in English for truck drivers.
“Truck Drivers Are Essential”
“America’s truck drivers are essential to the strength of our economy, the security of our Nation, and the livelihoods of the American people,” the executive order begins, noting the work of “transporting the nation’s goods” is both “demanding” and “dangerous.”
Referring back to his executive order from March 1, which designated English as the official language of the United States, this April 28 executive order says, “Proficiency in English … should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers.”
Adding this measure is “common sense,” the executive order states:
“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers. Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English.”
New Guidance Ordered
On June 15, 2016, during the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation filed a memorandum to remove “the requirement to place drivers out of service for English Language Proficiency violations.”
This memorandum went on to order that “formal driver interviews to confirm [English language proficiency] will not be conducted during roadside inspections.”
Further, the memorandum stated, “If the driver cannot read, write, or speak English, but can communicate sufficiently with the inspector/investigator, he/she should not be cited for violation.”
Only “if a non-English speaking driver acknowledges that he/she does not speak English” would the driver receive a citation for violation.
This memorandum is cited by Trump’s April 28 executive order, which orders that “the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, shall, within 60 days of the date of this order, rescind the [2016 memorandum].”
From there, Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) held by non-permanent residents of the United States will be reviewed, with state agencies looking to identify “any unusual patterns or numbers or other irregularities with respect to non-domiciled CDL issuance.”
The effectiveness of current state protocols for investigating the validity of CDLs will also be evaluated.
Supporting America’s Truck Drivers
The executive order also looks to care for the nation’s truck drivers.
“Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Transportation shall identify and begin carrying out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.”
This is in keeping with the Trump administration’s policy on trucking, which reads:
“It is the policy of my Administration to support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers. This order will help ensure a safe, secure, and efficient motor carrier industry.”
