Ohio pulls 1,200 commercial truck licenses for immigration guidelines

By David Beasley
The Center Square

The state of Ohio is downgrading the commercial driver’s license of 1,200 foreign-born truck drivers for failing to meet new federal requirements on documenting proof that they are in the United States legally.

The drivers will be downgraded to a Class D license, which can’t be used to legally drive a commercial vehicle in the U.S., Ohio Department of Public Safety spokesman Bret Crow told The Center Square.

“Those receiving this notice who believe their documents do meet the updated federal standards may request a hearing with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to dispute the downgrade and/or submit additional documentation to BMV to prove their eligibility,” Crow said.

Late last month, Ohio BMV announced that it was contacting about 5,000 “non-domiciled,” commercial driver license holders in Ohio about the status of their credentials under the updated federal rules.

“A non-domiciled CDL is a federally authorized U.S. commercial driver license issued to an individual who has legal presence and is legally authorized to work in the United States but is not a permanent resident,” BMV said in a news release.

The new federal requirements issued last September limit “who qualifies for this credential,” the state said.

Ohio has not issued or renewed any non-domiciled CDLs since the new federal rules were adopted.

“The Ohio BMV does not intend to resume issuing new non-domiciled CDLs in the future nor will it renew any revalidated non-domiciled CDLs after they expire,” the state’s news release said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has issued a series of new regulations on the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses, including a requirement that tests must be administered in English.

"What we're doing is implementing a rule that will say there's one language in which you can take your test — It's English only," Duffy said in February. "You take the test in English. You can't speak English, you can't read English — you're not going to do well on the test."

Several states, including California, were previously offering the tests in several languages, Duffy said.

Under the Biden administration, millions of illegal immigrants entered the country, “and our trucking industry is still paying the price,” the U.S. The Department of Transportation said in a February statement. Today, approximately 200,000 truckers hold non-domiciled CDLs. These unqualified truckers put American families at risk every time they get on the road."