California, Washington and New Mexico could lose millions of dollars of federal funding if they continue failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.
An investigation launched after a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn on Aug. 12 found what Duffy called significant failures in the way all three states are enforcing rules that took effect in June after one of President Donald Trump's executive orders. He said the department was also already reviewing states' enforcement before the crash.
Truckers are supposed to be disqualified if they can't demonstrate English proficiency, and Duffy said the driver involved in the crash should not have been given a commercial driver's license because of his immigration status. The crash has become increasingly political, with the governors of California and Florida criticizing each other and Duffy highlighting the administration's immigration concerns in interviews.
But Duffy said it is a safety issue — not a political one — because truckers need to be able to tell law enforcement what they are hauling if they are pulled over or what happened if there is an accident.
“We all use the roadway, and we need to make sure that those who are driving big rigs — semis — can understand the road signs, that they’ve been well trained,” Duffy said.
Duffy says these states aren't enforcing the rules
The Transportation Department said California has conducted roughly 34,000 inspections that found at least one violation since the new language standards took effect. But only one inspection involved an English language rules violation that resulted in a driver being taken out of service. And 23 drivers with violations in other states were allowed to continue driving after inspections in California.
Duffy cited similar statistics for the other states, with Washington finding more than 6,000 violations of safety rules during inspections, but only pulling four drivers out of service for English language violations. He said New Mexico has not placed any drivers out of service since the rules took effect.
Duffy said the states will lose money from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program if they don’t comply with the rules within 30 days — $33 million for California, $10.5 million for Washington and $7 million for New Mexico.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office said on the social platform X that the Trump administration is just trying to deflect responsibility for the crash.
“This is rich,” it said. “The Trump Administration approved the federal work permit for the man who killed 3 people — and now they’re scrambling to shift blame after getting caught. Sean’s nonsense announcement is as big a joke as the Trump Administration itself.”
A spokesperson for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state's process for issuing commercial licenses includes a mandatory English component to ensure divers can read and understand traffic signals.
“We are aware of recent claims regarding the enforcement of these regulations and are actively seeking more information,” Michael Coleman said via email. “Initial reports suggest that these claims relate to a small number of roadside incidents over a three-month period.”
Washington’s governor declined to comment until after officials review Duffy’s letter.
Florida crash killed three people
Three people died when truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on a highway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach and a minivan slammed into his trailer, according to Florida's Highway Patrol. Singh and his passenger were not injured.
He is being held without bond after being charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations.
Diamond R. Litty, the elected public defender in St. Lucie County, said her office was provisionally assigned to Singh’s case during his initial appearance Saturday morning.
Litty said her office will focus on the criminal charges against Singh, but it will also work with an immigration attorney to determine how his status affects the case. After more than three decades at her position, Litty said she cannot recall a case that garnered more attention.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Singh has been caught in the crosshairs of politics,” Litty said.
The head of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association trade group, which represents small-business truck drivers, praised Duffy's announcement.
“Basic English skills are critical for safely operating a commercial motor vehicle — reading road signs, following emergency instructions, and communicating with law enforcement,” said Todd Spencer, the group’s president.
Federal officials say driver was in US illegally
The Department of Homeland Security has said Singh, a native of India, was in the country illegally. So Duffy said he should not have been granted a commercial driver's license by Washington and California. He said New Mexico should have pulled Singh off the road for not speaking English after he was pulled over in July because he later failed a test given by DOT investigators after the Florida crash.
But the governor's office in New Mexico said a body-camera video of the police stop of Singh makes it clear that he understands English.
Released Tuesday, the video shows Singh speaking in broken English during the highway-side stop and commercial vehicle inspection by a New Mexico State Police officer. Singh responds to a series of instructions during the inspection, and asks how long the citation will be linked to his license.
“This my ticket and on my license ... how many year?” Singh says.
The officer issues Singh a reduced speeding citation for driving 10 mph (17 kph) above the speed limit in a 45 mph (72 kph) zone, noting Singh's explanation that he was already trying to slow down.
“We believe that a full review of the incidents in question will demonstrate that New Mexico is in full compliance with federal law and that New Mexico State Police are effectively enforcing safety regulations on our roadways,” Coleman said.
Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia issue licenses regardless of immigration status. Supporters say that lets people work, visit doctors and travel safely.
Newsom's office said California followed all the rules when it issued a license for Singh in July 2024, while the federal government confirmed at that time that he was in the country legally. Newsom has also said Singh obtained a work permit during Trump's first term, which Homeland Security officials disputed. Newsom said the permit was renewed in April and federal officials have not addressed that.
Florida authorities have said Singh entered illegally from Mexico in 2018. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Singh should have never received the license.
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Associated Press writers David Fischer, Kate Payne, Morgan Lee and Eugene Johnson contributed.
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