Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Exposes Over 50% of North Carolina Trucking Licensees for Foreigners Were Issued Illegally
The Department will withhold nearly $50 million in federal funding if North Carolina fails to revoke licenses issued
illegally to foreign drivers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today exposed that 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) reviewed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) were issued illegally.
The revelation is part of FMCSA’s ongoing nationwide audit of the state’s truck licensing systems. If North Carolina does not fix their serious failures and revoke all illegally issued licenses, the Department will withhold nearly $50 million in federal funding.
“North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful – it's dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean. P. Duffy. “President Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.”
“The level of noncompliance in North Carolina is egregious,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs. “Under Secretary Duffy, we will not hesitate to hold states accountable and protect the American people."
In a letter sent today to Governor Josh Stein and North Carolina Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, FMCSA outlined the audit’s findings of how the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to:
- Drivers whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired.
- Drivers who were ineligible from holding a non-domiciled commercial CDL.
- Drivers without North Carolina first verifying the individual’s lawful presence in the U.S.
For North Carolina to prevent federal funding from being withheld, the Department outlined the following corrective actions:
- Immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
- Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations.
- Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
- Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices, and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet Federal rules.
North Carolina is the latest in a string of states putting Americans at risk by recklessly issuing non-domiciled CDLs to inadequately vetted foreign drivers.
Additional Information:
President Trump’s Executive Order on truck driver roadway safety shined a light on the widespread negligence of states that were illegally issuing non-domiciled CDLs. In response, USDOT swiftly launched a nationwide non-domiciled CDL audit, which has uncovered glaring compliance failures in several states, including California and Pennsylvania.
In June, Secretary Duffy announced a nationwide audit of states issuing non-domiciled CDLs and unveiled a pro-trucker package that includes millions to expand truck parking, the removal of one-size-fits-all mandates, the modernization of driver resources, and the slashing of red tape.
In addition to these enforcement actions, 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 longstanding English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements will be placed out-of-service. This focus on language proficiency aligns with President Trump’s March Executive Order designating English as the official language of the United States.
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