Illegal Immigrants Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg In Trucking Industry’s Troubles
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Unsafe CDL Loopholes Expose Gaps in Trucking Industry Oversight
Illegal immigrants have been obtaining commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and taking the wheel of massive 80,000-pound trucks due to a loophole in California law — a symptom of broader issues in an industry weakened by inadequate training, low wages, and lax federal oversight, the Daily Caller News Foundation has found.
Under California law, private trucking programs charging $2,500 or less in tuition are exempt from licensing and regulation by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). This has created a gray area in which nearly 200 such schools issue CDLs with little accountability, sometimes to non-U.S. residents.
Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), told the DCNF that the problem reflects longstanding federal failings in trucking oversight. Even the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) program, launched in 2022 as the first federal requirement for new truckers, is poorly enforced, he said, allowing underprepared drivers — foreign or domestic — onto U.S. highways.
“We looked at this whole CDL thing back in ’91 or ’92. The idea was to make licensing universal. Everyone would pass the same training,” Pugh said. “But while we made licensing standardized, we never enforced the training. That’s the real problem.”
Pugh criticized California’s exemption for low-cost programs, saying regulation should be federal because most truckers operate across state lines and internationally. He described the ELDT program as ineffective: applicants simply register online, find a minimally qualified trainer, and have the trainer check off topics, often with little or no behind-the-wheel instruction.
“You could have 25 years’ experience and be a trainer tomorrow. You could fill out the paperwork, mark it complete, and hand it back,” Pugh said. “If someone passes the maneuverability test, they’re considered a truck driver. The system incentivizes passing people who paid for training, not ensuring they’re qualified.”
Federal audits have found California-issued licenses granted to ineligible foreign nationals, including those whose legal status had lapsed, sometimes extending far beyond work authorization. These violations have allowed unqualified drivers, including illegal immigrants, to operate massive trucks — contributing to accidents that have killed others on the road.
Yet Pugh said these licensing issues are only the latest symptom of a much larger problem: decades of poor wages and high turnover driving qualified American drivers out of trucking. “We’ve treated drivers like disposable commodities,” he said. “That’s led to a system where anyone can get behind the wheel of a truck or start a trucking company overnight with minimal scrutiny.”
Major carriers see turnover rates above 90% annually. Drivers are often paid by the mile, not by the hour, with unpaid detention time cutting into earnings — a system Pugh says prioritizes profits over safety. “Imagine running any workplace with 90% turnover every year. It would be chaotic. But in trucking, that’s the model,” he said.
Real wages for truckers haven’t kept pace with inflation since the 1970s, transforming what was once a solid middle-class career into a job few Americans want. This creates a cycle: low pay drives turnover, which leads companies to rely on inexperienced drivers trained through minimal programs, including the non-domiciled CDL schools now under scrutiny.
President Trump’s administration has implemented emergency restrictions on non-domiciled CDLs, sanctioned California, and introduced an English proficiency requirement in the government funding bill, addressing some immediate safety concerns. Still, advocates say structural reforms are needed.
The OOIDA has called for mandatory behind-the-wheel training, stricter oversight of training providers, and faster removal of inadequate programs from the federal Training Provider Registry, particularly those tied to fatal crashes. In October 2025, the group praised Transportation Secretary Duffy’s actions on non-domiciled CDLs as “an important step toward safer highways and a more professional trucking industry.”
Whether these measures, combined with potential changes in upcoming highway reauthorization bills, will resolve high turnover, stagnant wages, and inconsistent training standards remains uncertain for regulators, carriers, and drivers alike.
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