Add The New York Post on Google WASHINGTON – President Trump on Thursday unveiled a plan to give military veterans a priority on trucking jobs, cutting out illegal immigrants who “cannot read” road signs.
“We’re going to make it as easy as possible for the veterans,” Trump said at an event at the White House.
Flanked by two massive truck cabs, one a military green and the other blue with a large American eagle painted on it, the president praised veterans for having “a talent” for truck driving while blasting states that gave commercial driving licenses to illegal immigrants.
“Radical left maniacs at the state level have issued them commercial driver’s licenses, even though they’re not entitled to have them,” the president said.
“They don’t speak English. They cannot read basic road signs. In many cases, they’ve engaged in reckless driving that has caused many, many preventable deaths,” he added.
“We’ve got to stop it. It’s dangerous what’s happening,” he said, noting American highways were being “terrorized by unqualified illegal aliens, dangerously driving big rigs.”
In 2025, at least 30 deaths resulted from 17 fatal crashes caused by illegal immigrant commercial vehicle drivers, according to the Department of Transportation.
Under the new program, the DoT will expand the eligibility for veterans to receive expedited commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), extending the waiver period from 12 months to 24 months.
For veterans who never drove a heavy commercial vehicle during their military service, CDL training will be offered.
There will also be a recruitment campaign with digital ads, radio ads, and a website listing federal and private resources.
The Freedom Haulers program comes after more than 24,000 CDLs were removed from the nation’s highways as part of a DoT crackdown.
California and New York were found to have issued CDLs to thousands of migrant drivers. But the states argued those drivers had authorization to work in the US at the time the licenses were issued.
However, New York, in December, was stripped of nearly $74 million in federal highway funding after refusing a federal order to revoke 33,000 CDLs issued to immigrant truck drivers.
State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the federal government to try and recoup the funds.
However, the state made some concessions. In February, New York leaders announced it will no longer give commercial driver’s licenses to non-citizens following an order from the Trump administration tightening restrictions.
The federal government also found California issued approximately 17,000 to 20,000 commercial licenses with expiration dates that extended past the drivers’ legal stay or work authorization periods.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold $160 million in federal highway funding the state. Ultimately, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles canceled the licenses of nearly 13,000 immigrant truck drivers.
Both states face shortages of truck drivers as the government cracks down on requirements to receive a commercial license, including requiring the test to be taken in English and preventing refugees, asylum seekers, and those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals from holding commercial trucking licenses.
Shortages of truck drivers could result in higher shipping costs and delays in deliveries.
Duffy blamed the problem of illegal drivers on the Biden administration.
“President Biden let in millions of illegals into this country, and he thought it would be a good idea that when they come in, they get a job, and they get a job driving a commercial motor vehicle,” he said at the White House event.
“They didn’t have the training, they didn’t have the skill. We didn’t do background checks in the last administration, so they could have had a mile-long rap sheet of crime or drunk driving or speeding violations.”
