Judicial Watch Sues Transportation Dept for Records on Cross-Border Trucking and the Licensing of Illegal Drivers

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for records on cross-border trucking and the licensing of non-citizens (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Transportation (No. 1:26-cv-00333)).

Judicial Watch filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a component of the Transportation Department, failed to respond to two August 2025 FOIA requests.

The first request is for records and correspondence related to:

• Cross-Border Trucking Pilot Program and Follow-Up Data
• Mexican-Domiciled Carriers and Ownership
• Driver Licensing and Expedited Processing
• English Language Proficiency Enforcement
• NAFTA Renegotiation, Guest Workers, and Labor Impacts
• General Safety and Oversight Records

The second request asks for records and communications about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s tracking of Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grantees’ Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP) goals and performance outcomes.

In April 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Transportation to “rescind guidance that watered down the law requiring English proficiency for commercial drivers” in an effort to ensure that drivers “safely navigate roads, comply with regulations, and communicate effectively with authorities and employers.” 

In May 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy signed an order establishing new guidelines “to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators.” In September Duffy announced “an emergency action further restricting eligibility for a “non-domiciled” commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses.” The rule was established in response to a nationwide audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and a series of horrific, fatal crashes.

In August 2025, the U.S. Department of State paused all employment visas for commercial truck drivers, which was in keeping with the Transportation Department’s effort to strictly enforce English proficiency standards on truck drivers in the name of safety.

 Recently, Operation SafeDRIVE reportedly removed “hundreds of truckers found not to be proficient in English … nearly 2,000 unqualified truckers and other drivers from the road” in a three-day national crackdown.

“Americans were dying on our highways because of lax oversight by the Biden administration,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “President Trump and his administration are trying to clean this up. The American people should know the details of this regulatory disaster.

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