The Trump administration announced Thursday it is investigating 75 entry-level truck driver commercial driver’s license schools across the U.S. that are suspected of fraudulently helping put non-citizen drivers on American highways.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) are partnering to address fraud regarding the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs to illegal aliens.
"FMCSA has identified approximately 75 entry-level driving training schools suspected of fraudulent activities, including using improper driver certifications, falsifying training records, and failing to properly train drivers applying for CDLs, among other violations," DHS announced in a release Thursday.
The crackdown comes after months of American deaths from truck-driving accidents caused by reported illegal immigrants.
"Too many American lives have been lost in completely avoidable accidents because illegal aliens have been granted commercial driver's licenses to drive trucks and 18-wheelers on America's roadways," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote in a statement.
"DHS law enforcement is partnering with the Department of Transportation to eliminate CDL fraud, strengthen the integrity of the CDL system, and investigate commercial driver's license schools throughout the country. This is a whole-of-government approach, to keep America's roads safe."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hailed President Donald Trump's DHS investigators for being "force multiplier" in the administration’s effort to root out CDL fraud and restore safety to America's streets.
"USDOT has spent the last year rooting out bad actors from our trucking industry," Duffy wrote in a statement.
"We've knocked over 24,000 drivers off our roads for failing to speak English, forced states to cancel over 28,000 licenses illegally issued to foreign drivers, and purged over 9,500 unqualified training schools from our FMCSA registry.
"DHS will be a force multiplier of our efforts to clean up America's roads. President Trump is using every lever at his disposal to ensure the safety of American families."
