The U.S. Postal Service announced on January 5 that it will begin requiring contracted trucking providers to phase out the use of non‑domiciled commercial drivers who have not been vetted by officials.
“The safety of our employees, our customers, and the American public is of the utmost concern to the Postal Service,” Amber McReynolds, chairwoman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, said in a press release.
“In order to maintain the highest possible safety standards, we have decided to phase out any use of non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s License operators who have not been thoroughly vetted by the Postal Inspection Service.”
Why It Matters
Non‑domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) are held by drivers whose licenses were issued in a state where they are not permanently domiciled.
Some holders of these licenses are undocumented migrants, while others include foreign nationals legally in the United States on work visas and lawful residents temporarily living in another state for employment purposes.
What To Know
Postal officials said that carriers will be required to fully vet all non‑domiciled CDL holders before they operate on USPS contracts, and that the agency “will begin working with its contracted trucking providers to phase out any use” of non-domiciled CDLs
Under the Trump administration, federal authorities increasingly focused on apprehending migrant truck drivers without legal status as part of immigration enforcement operations. Operations such as ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz” in Illinois and Indiana, as well as California’s enforcement initiatives, including Operation Highway Sentinel, led to the arrests of hundreds of undocumented drivers.
Advocates say these actions disproportionately affect migrants, while supporters, including some Republican lawmakers, argue they are necessary to uphold immigration laws, enforce English literacy requirements for drivers, and maintain safety on U.S. highways.
Recent Incidents Cause Concern
Several fatal crashes in recent years involving truck drivers who were in the United States without legal status have heightened scrutiny of licensing and safety standards. In October 2025, Jashanpreet Singh in Ontario, California, was charged after his semi‑truck crashed into stopped traffic on Interstate 10, killing three people. Authorities said he was under the influence of drugs.
In August 2025, Harjinder Singh on Florida’s Turnpike allegedly made an illegal U‑turn that resulted in a collision killing three people. In November 2025, Rajinder Kumar in Oregon faced charges after his tractor‑trailer jackknifed and caused a crash that killed two motorists, with immigration authorities lodging a detainer.
Gaps in Driver Vetting
“This matter is of significant importance to the United States Postal Service, given the 2024 audit from the US Postal Service Office of Inspector General, which concluded that gaps in driver vetting and oversight could compromise the safety and security of the mail as well as endanger other motorists,” Shannon Everett, Founding Partner at American Truckers United told Newsweek.
“Our position on the recent announcement by the USPS is one that encourages immediate accountability followed by prompt and decisive action. Without a doubt, participants who chose to go all in on replacing American truck drivers with this illicit capacity will bear the brunt of corrective action. However, those same participants are the ones who have profited.”
The Trump administration took a series of aggressive measures targeting commercial driver licensing, including an immediate pause on work visas for truck drivers announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in August. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Transportation moved against states that it said were issuing non‑domiciled commercial driver’s licenses to non‑U.S. citizens improperly, citing safety concerns and compliance issues.
Trump Admin’s Pressure on CDLs
Previously, non‑U.S. citizens legally residing in the United States could obtain a non‑domiciled CDL. In September 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an interim final rule restricting eligibility for these licenses to holders of H‑2A, H‑2B, and E‑2 visas. The rule bypassed the standard notice-and-comment process and cited evidence that five non‑citizen drivers had been involved in crashes during 2025 as justification for the change.
The administration maneuvered to pressure several Democratic‑led states by threatening to withhold federal transportation funds, aiming to ensure compliance with commercial driver licensing rules and related regulations.
In October, the department threatened to withhold $160 million in federal funds from California, and later in December, New York faced a potential $73 million funding loss. California subsequently agreed to revoke 17,000 commercial driver licenses held by foreign nationals flagged in federal audits.
The department also withheld $40.6 million from California for failing to enforce English proficiency requirements for truck drivers.
California has delayed implementing federal licensing deadlines and postponed revoking certain non‑domiciled CDLs. State officials cited legal challenges and the need to ensure that some drivers, including foreign nationals legally in the United States, do not lose employment while authorized to work.
A July survey by Tech.co found that 69 percent of freight businesses are struggling to keep up with demand due to ongoing labor shortages in the trucking industry.
What People Are Saying
“USPS just completed an extremely safe and efficient peak season delivering the nation’s holiday mail and packages,” Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner said in a press release. “We believe this additional requirement will strengthen the safety, efficiency and reliability of our services into the future.”
Shannon Everett, Founding Partner at American Truckers United told Newsweek: “The law was contorted by approximately ten states so that non-citizen drivers who had not been properly vetted, qualified, or trained could become commercial truck drivers. This reckless behavior has now been proven to be a public safety hazard, a national security matter, and an economic concern to our hardworking American truck drivers.”
“If we’re going to have drivers on American roadways, they need to be the best trained, the best skilled, because if operated incorrectly or inappropriately these are lethal weapons on American roadways,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on December 12.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Director Steve Gordon said in a press release on December 30: “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy—our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them.”
Todd Spencer, President, Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, said: “The days of exploiting cheap labor on the basis of false ‘driver shortage’ claims are over. OOIDA and truckers across America support the Trump Administration’s actions to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs. For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truckers and the motoring public at risk. Secretary Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Barrs are embracing policies that prioritize the needs of professional truckers and roadway safety.”
