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More than half of all commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued in North Carolina to non-domiciled individuals were issued illegally, according to a review by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
In a statement issued this week, the DOT said 54% of all licenses of this type were invalid.
The review was part of an ongoing nationwide investigation into trucking licensing.
The DOT is now warning North Carolina to “fix their serious failures” and revoke illegal licenses, or miss out on $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,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
The Epoch Times reports, “According to audit findings, North Carolina illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to drivers whose lawful presence in the United States had expired, and some of those drivers were found to be ineligible to hold a non-domiciled commercial license.
“FMCSA sent a letter to North Carolina Department of Transportation Commissioner Paul Tine and Gov. Josh Stein, outlining audit results and the corrective actions that must be taken to prevent funding from being withheld.
“The agency asked North Carolina authorities to ‘immediately’ pause the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, identify unexpired CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations, and conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify errors, practices, quality assurance, and other issues that led to such CDLs being granted.”
Since Trump’s return to office, there has been intense scrutiny on the safety of America’s roads, as a result of a series of fatal crashes involving foreign or nondomiciled drivers.
In one notable instance, an Indian national called Harjinder Singh was arrested for undertaking an illegal U-turn on a Florida turnpike, killing three.
Singh, who is in the country illegally, failed an English exam, answering only two of 12 questions correctly, and was unable to identify 75% of road signs. Despite his clear lack of proficiency, Was state issued him a full-term CDL in 2023, and California issued a second CDL in 2024.
Singh has pled not guilty.
An ongoing review of CDL issuance has found a “catastrophic pattern” of non-compliance with federal rules, especially in California.
More than 25% of California’s nondomiciled CDLs were found to have been issued incorrectly.
“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” Secretary Duffy said in September.
“Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers–often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it.”
In December, Duffy revealed that more than 9,500 truckers have been removed from the roads.
“We’ve now knocked 9,500 truck drivers out of service for failing to speak our national language — ENGLISH!” Duffy wrote in a post on X.
“This administration will always put you and your family’s safety first.”
The tally stretches back to May, when the Department of Transportation reinstated penalties for drivers who cannot read or speak English sufficiently well to drive a commercial truck.
“America First means safety first,” Duffy said in May.
“Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs. This common-sense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist.”
In March, President Trump signed an Executive Order designating English as the official language of the United States. The following month, he signed another Order directing Secretary Duffy to ensure truckers who cannot fail an English-proficiency test are prevented from driving.
“My Administration will enforce the law to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others, including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensure that anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English,” Trump wrote in the April order.
“This is common sense.”
