The United States will stop issuing worker visas for commercial truck drivers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week. The change was effective immediately, reported CBS News.
A State Department spokesperson said the pause was done "in order to conduct a comprehensive and thorough review of screening and vetting protocols used to determine their qualifications for a U.S. visa."
The spokesperson noted it "applies to all nationalities and is not directed at any specific country."
The change comes after a well-publicized fatal accident in Florida involving a driver in the country illegally. "The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers," Rubio wrote in a post on X.
"The Trump administration in the past months has taken steps to enforce the requirement that truckers speak and read English proficiently. The Transportation Department said the aim is to improve road safety following incidents in which drivers' ability to read signs or speak English may have contributed to traffic deaths," wrote CBS.
The move comes amid a reported commercial truck driver shortage in the U.S. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the industry is facing a shortage of about 60,000 drivers.
The ATA said in a statement that it supports the administration’s move. The issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers "needs serious scrutiny, including the enforcement of entry-level driver training standards," the ATA said.
Last October, NACS Magazine explored the need for more truck parking spaces. The United States currently has about one parking space for every 11 trucks.