Feds launch CDL fraud crackdown, remove 110 schools for certifying drivers who failed English tests

The Trump administration on Monday launched a sweeping interagency effort against fraud in the commercial trucking industry, pairing new Transportation Department enforcement actions with Homeland Security raids and a new Justice Department task force targeting what officials called a nationwide issue of unqualified truck drivers illegally receiving licenses.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the effort alongside Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs, White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Vice Chairman Andrew Ferguson, and two U.S. attorneys, forming what they're calling the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, a multistate partnership meant to target criminal networks and highway fraud. 

The officials were joined by Marcus Coleman and his daughter Dalilah, who was 5 years old in 2024 when a commercial truck driver in the country illegally, holding a California-issued commercial driver's license, caused a highway pileup that left her with a traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy. President Donald Trump cited Dalilah’s case at this year’s State of the Union address in calling for what lawmakers have since introduced in Congress as Dalilah's Law, which would bar states from issuing commercial licenses to people in the country illegally.

On the transportation side, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it is immediately removing more than 110 driver-training companies linked to over 5,000 drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests and launching a nationwide audit of the third-party testers who administer commercial license skills exams. 

A 40-state investigation, covering nearly 400 training providers, turned up what the agency described as recurring violations, including unlicensed instructors and one training provider that claimed its classroom was inside a school bus parked in a trailer. More than 160 of the providers flagged have been linked to 239 fatal crashes involving their certified drivers.

The Department of Homeland Security said Homeland Security Investigations was conducting a coordinated single-day sweep of more than 200 driving schools across 23 states, alongside ongoing investigations into Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) fraud, unauthorized employment, identity-document fraud and suspected links to smuggling and drug trafficking. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would run parallel operations — including efforts targeting truckers with existing removal orders and commercial license holders who are in the country illegally — with a particular focus this week on Maine, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

“To fully root out the scourge of fraud, hold criminals accountable, and restore safety, we need the support of federal law enforcement,” Duffy said in a statement announcing the effort.

The announcement builds on more than a year of similar action: DOT officials say the agency has removed more than 28,000 drivers from the road for failing English-proficiency requirements, forced states to cancel more than 30,000 licenses for drivers not working in the U.S. legally, and purged over 8,000 training schools from its federal registry since early last year.