LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Trump Administration’s push for Congress to pass a law banning immigrants from driving big rigs trucks could end up costing Americans more at the store, according to trucking industry officials.
The Trump administration is asking Congress to bar many immigrants from holding those commercial driver’s licenses – CDLs – a move that could remove as many as 200,000 drivers from the U.S. trucking industry, according to the Department of Transportation.
During his State of the Union address, Trump urged lawmakers to pass what he calls Delilah’s Law, arguing that immigrants in the country illegally should not be allowed behind the wheel of commercial trucks.
“Most illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location,” Trump said.
The proposal would apply broadly, affecting DACA recipients, immigrants with temporary protected status and asylum seekers – all of whom could lose their commercial driving privileges.
For companies that rely on immigrant labor, the impact could be immediate and costly.
“If immigrant drivers are allowed to live and work in the United States, then they should be able to drive,” said Joe Atoigue, transportation manager for Harvest Sensations, a produce importer.
Atoigue said the loss of hundreds of thousands of licensed drivers would ripple through the supply chain.
With food prices already elevated, he warned that trucking shortages would push transportation costs even higher.
“That will be a huge impact,” he said. “It’s almost like putting those drivers on strike, and so the demand for drivers is gonna be high so freight rates will increase. The cost of goods will increase all across the nation.”
Industry groups have long warned of a nationwide truckdriver shortage.
Removing a significant portion of the workforce, they say, could worsen delays and raise prices for consumers.
Congress has not yet scheduled a vote on Delilah’s Law.
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