President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating the enforcement of an existing — but heretofore unenforced — federal law requiring truck drivers to be proficient in English.
In his directive Monday, Trump underscored that enforcement will enhance the “safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others” by ensuring that “anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English.”
The new order reverses a 2016 memorandum by former President Barack Obama’s administration, which abolished the language-proficiency requirement.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order establishing English as the official language of the United States.
In his EO this week, Trump said it’s “common sense” that English proficiency “should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers.”
The president explained: “They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers.”
“That is why Federal law requires that, to operate a commercial vehicle, a driver must ‘read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.’
“Yet this requirement has not been enforced in years, and America’s roadways have become less safe,” the president noted.
Should English be adopted as America’s official language?
Accordingly, Trump directed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to take swift actions to ensure compliance.
Drivers who do not meet this language-proficiency requirement will be “placed out-of-service,” the executive order said.
In an X post Monday, Duffy doubled-down on the new Trump policy.
“Federal law is clear: a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English—our native language— and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America,” he wrote.
Duffy’s X post was applauded by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a union representing some 150,000 truckers.
“Thank you @SecDuffy for listening to #truckers and prioritizing highway safety!” the union wrote.
“Basic English skills are essential for reading critical road signs, understanding emergency instructions and interacting with law enforcement.”
Thank you @SecDuffy for listening to #truckers and prioritizing highway safety!
Basic English skills are essential for reading critical road signs, understanding emergency instructions and interacting with law enforcement.#OOIDA https://t.co/tVUrT5stue
— Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (@OOIDA) April 29, 2025
It’s patently absurd that an existing law requiring truckers to be able to read traffic signs in basic English has not been enforced.
How many Americans unnecessarily died as a result of this egregious negligence?
The public is largely unaware that truckers have been demanding this language-proficiency requirement for some time.
In an April 11 X post, American Truckers noted that a Department of Transportation officer has confirmed that “illegal alien truck drivers are driving commercial trucks and often cannot read and speak English.”
Department of Transportation Enforcement Officer calls in to Breitbart Radio and confirms illegal alien truck drivers are driving commercial trucks and often cannot read and speak English. So concerned he wants to write his own letter to the White House! pic.twitter.com/ChXrJZETkD
— American Truckers (@atutruckers) April 12, 2025
This insanity endangers both the truckers and everyone else on the roads driving alongside them.
As it is, there have been countless horrific car crashes caused by unlicensed illegal aliens who drove recklessly.
In many cases, these accidents resulted in the tragic deaths of innocent Americans.
I was just reading about the unlicensed illegals getting hired to drive trucks around. Many are saying it’s a right wing conspiracy theory.
Here’s one newcomer who just killed an entire family outside Austin driving an Amazon truck while wasted: pic.twitter.com/jv7Fl5Z3ug
— Peachy Keenan (@KeenanPeachy) March 14, 2025
Angelina County, TX: Previously deported illegal alien Jorge Urbina Lopez was arrested in a fatal hit-and-run. He is accused of driving his truck into a house, killing 70-year-old homeowner Robert Boyles. pic.twitter.com/bmtkIvGk4W
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) April 28, 2025
Illegal alien accused of killing two in wrong-way crash. https://t.co/wE9kURnH7I https://t.co/7xIwMCnVir pic.twitter.com/xgCsxcXVEK
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) April 28, 2025
Trump did the right thing with this latest executive order, which will hopefully crack down on illegal aliens who are driving huge rigs while being unable to read basic traffic signs.
This is an urgent matter of public safety that should’ve been addressed years ago.
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