The Texas Department of Public Safety has suspended the issuance of certain commercial driver's licenses to non-citizens, a move that has worried trucking industry professionals about potential driver shortages during the upcoming holiday season.
The new rule affects non-domiciled CDLs and all CDLs for non-citizens who are refugees, asylees, or DACA recipients, according to a Texas DPS release.
Brittany Clemens, program director for Truck God CDL Training in Grand Prairie, said the policy change is already impacting their operations.
"As of right now, we have about seven students that we were having to pause training for because they are enrolled, but they have just a regular work visa," Clemens said.
The timing concerns industry experts, who note the trucking sector already faces a driver shortage. With the holiday shipping season approaching, the suspension could create additional challenges for moving goods across the state and beyond.
"Since everything is kind of new, the only thing we can tell people is it's paused right now and we are awaiting more answers for them," Clemens said.
Mitchell Ward, chairman and CEO of MW Logistics, warned that losing drivers could ultimately increase costs for consumers.
"Which is going to make prices higher to our customers to move their goods and services. And if it costs more for them to move their goods and services, it's going to end up to the end user at the grocery stores at the malls or wherever," Ward said.
Ward acknowledged that while these impacts would likely be felt down the road, the industry must adapt to the changing regulations.
"We just got to buckle up. We gotta figure out where our administration and where the government's going with this, and hopefully they make the best decisions for everybody," Ward said.
The suspension comes as truck drivers undergo special training to prepare them for safely operating commercial vehicles on the roads.
