A Florida trucker who answered just 2 of 12 English questions right is now at the center of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visa freeze.
DALLAS — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday announced a nationwide freeze on work visas for commercial truck drivers — just nine days after a Florida Turnpike crash that killed three people.
In a post to X, Rubio warned the surge of foreign drivers on U.S. highways is “endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.” His order is expected to affect thousands of drivers nationwide.
Dallas trucking safety expert Steve Wilhelms said the pause could help stem the flow of unqualified drivers.
“It’s the pause we need to start turning the ship,” he said.
But Wilhelms noted it remains unclear whether drivers already holding visas will be able to renew them.
“If it expires in two months, are they going to be able to renew or are they not?” he said. “We don’t know.”
The Aug. 12 crash fueling Rubio’s announcement was captured on in-cab dashcam video. It shows an 18-wheeler making an illegal U-turn in front of a Chrysler minivan. The van slammed into the trailer, killing three people. The trucker turned near a “No U-Turn” sign.
Federal officials identified the driver as Harjinder Singh, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 before receiving a temporary work permit under the Biden administration. After the crash, officials said Singh answered only two of 12 questions on an English proficiency test and correctly identified one of four road signs. He required a translator in a California court appearance this week, where he agreed to extradition to Florida to face three counts of vehicular homicide.
“There’s no doubt that the substantial increase in foreign truck drivers not being tested and trained appropriately has impacted our safety on the roadways,” said Florida trucking lawyer Joe Camerlengo.
Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who traveled to California to bring Singh back, said: “He didn’t have basic English proficiency. He didn’t know the road signs, and yet he is driving a giant vehicle across our state.”
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said preliminary findings show Washington and New Mexico failed to follow federal rules. Washington issued Singh a full-term CDL in July 2023, despite regulations barring asylum seekers and those without legal status from obtaining one. And New Mexico State Police did not administer an English assessment during a July 3 roadside inspection, when Singh was cited for speeding.
The English-language rule for commercial drivers — requiring they speak and read English during stops and inspections — was suspended in 2016 under the Obama administration but reinstated June 25 by the Trump administration. Since then, more than 1,500 drivers have been placed out of service for failing the test, Duffy said.
Singh’s employer, California-based White Hawk Carriers, has since lost its insurance and federal operating authority.
Meanwhile in Texas, WFAA has been investigating deadly trucking crashes — including a June wreck in Terrell that killed five people. Critics argue gaps in federal regulation allow unsafe trucking companies to keep operating.