Pennsylvania Republicans Push Bills to Crack Down on Illegal Immigrant Truckers with State CDLs

Republicans in Pennsylvania are pressing Democrats to support a legislative package aimed at illegal immigrant truckers holding state commercial driver's licenses on U.S. highways.

Foreign nationals linked to dangerous crashes nationwide have held PennDOT CDLs, fueling tensions between Harrisburg and the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans say such problems do not occur at the same scale in other states and demand action from state Democrats.

Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, have blamed DHS for failing to maintain its SAVE database, which PennDOT uses to check applicants' lawful presence. A top Republican recently sought answers from PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll after illegal immigrants with CDLs were caught as far away as Oklahoma.

Shapiro's office did not reject the Republican-led bills on Wednesday. The measures target so-called CDL mills that churn out unqualified drivers for profit. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Biden administration let trucking schools self-certify, likening it to the Minnesota-Somali social-services fraud and calling it total bull at a conference.

"Highway safety is a cornerstone of our mission at PennDOT and the Shapiro administration remains unwavering in our work to make sure Pennsylvania's roads are safe," Shapiro spokeswoman Rosie Lapowsky said of the bills, which cleared Senate committee.

Pennsylvania has divided government: the House holds a 102-99 Democratic edge with two Republican-favored seats vacant, while the Senate has a 27-23 GOP majority.

Lapowsky said PennDOT issues CDLs to drivers verified through SAVE and in line with state and federal law. "The fact remains that every person who applies for a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license issued by PennDOT must provide proof of identity and proof of their lawful presence in the United States," she added. "We will monitor the bills as they go through the legislative process."

Allies of Shapiro in the House offered no comment. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Southwest Philadelphia, said the lawmaker was unavailable due to a floor session. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Schwenksville, House Majority Whip Mike Schlossberg, D-Allentown, and House Transportation Committee Chairman Ed Neilson, R-Northeast Philadelphia, did not respond.

Sen. Judy Ward of Hollidaysburg, the top Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee that approved the bills, could not be reached. Other Republicans called the plans commonsense reforms to protect highways.

"Cracking down on CDL mills and requiring English language proficiency for truck drivers are easy ways for Pennsylvania to make the roads a little safer," Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee chairman Jarrett Coleman, R-Allentown, told Fox News Digital.

Coleman led efforts after an Uzbek national in Philadelphia, Ahkror Bozorov, was arrested in Kansas. DHS said Bozorov was wanted in Tashkent for suspected terrorist ties. Coleman also cited a Senate hearing with Carroll and trucking groups after a Kyrgyz national with a PennDOT CDL caused a fatal crash in Indiana.

"I can’t imagine how anyone could be opposed to these types of changes, and quite frankly they’re overdue," said Coleman, a former commercial pilot and Parkland School Board member.

The package starts with SB 1294 to target CDL mills selling undertrained drivers. Ward, whose family runs Ward Trucking in Altoona, leads sponsorship with Sens. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, Wayne Langerholc, R-Johnstown, and Lisa Baker, R-Dallas.

The first bill creates a CDL school licensing board with $25,000 fines for uncertified entry-level training. The second requires English as the primary language for testing to drive vehicles over 40 tons on state highways. SB 1296 sets penalties for out-of-service violations by unsafe CDL drivers, including those lacking English comprehension.

A Pennsylvania Democratic source pointed to a hearing where Deputy Secretary of Education Lynnette Kuhn testified. She noted the federal government lists 1,273 Pennsylvania CDL training firms, but only 40 are registered with Harrisburg.

"Registration is a self-certifying process, and an applicant only needs to check a box attesting that they have met all applicable state requirements," Kuhn said. "Additionally, FMCSA registration does not require a physical or mailing address, phone number, email address, website, business information, or an individual’s personal information, making it extremely difficult to locate a provider based on the registry."

"As a result, unlicensed training providers can appear legitimate to consumers, employers, and state regulatory agencies."

The Senate is likely to pass the package soon, sending it to McClinton's House, where a few Democratic defections could approve it.