Federal agents are working at weigh stations to apprehend drivers deemed unqualified to hold commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) in some states, reports CDLLife.

In a July 7 interview with Fox News, Tom Homan, who holds the role of Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that federal authorities are working to identify and crack down on unqualified truck drivers, but he said that the effort is hampered by resistance from states with Democratic party administrations.

“It’s a work in progress, because, again, getting information from some of the sanctuary states is a struggle,” said Homan, who is otherwise known by the informal title of Border Czar.

According to the Washington Examiner, there are nearly 200,000 non-U.S. citizens who received CDLs from states despite having illegally entered the United States.

“We’re trying to get all this information we can. And we’ve got a lot of it. We’ve got a lot of people we’re looking for. Some states, we’re actually working weigh stations, with the [State] troopers, trying to get these people as they’re coming through,” Homan said.

Homan said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is working with state and local law enforcement, where allowed, to catch immigration violators operating commercial trucks.

More than 28,000 CDLs deemed to have been issued illegally have been revoked as of May 1, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In September 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sought to sharply limit commercial driver’s licenses for foreign-born applicants, a move since paused by a federal court. In March, a Trump administration rule took effect barring some groups of immigrants with temporary status, including DACA recipients and asylum seekers, from getting or renewing their commercial driver's licenses, according to PBS News. In May 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Florida to sue the states of California and Washington over alleged violations of restrictions on commercial driver licenses for immigrant truckers.

In May 2025, Secretary Duffy signed an order announcing new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. Under the new guidance, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who fail to comply with FMCSA long-standing English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements will be placed out of service, the DoT said.  

Separately, in August 2025, the Trump administration had also threatened to withhold federal funds from Washington and California, citing claims that the states had flouted the newly enacted language proficiency requirements. Commercial truckers face stricter language requirements than regular drivers because their jobs require frequent communication and decision-making as they operate massive vehicles, according to Bloomberg News.