Texas became one of the first states to act on Trump administration directives when the Department of Public Safety began revoking commercial driver’s licenses held by legally present non-citizens. DPS canceled 6,407 previously issued non-domiciled CDLs starting in December, with more than 3,300 additional expired licenses placed under evaluation for renewal eligibility under updated rules. The Texas Tribune
What Triggered the Crackdown
The action traces back to a sweeping federal audit. The FMCSA’s review of Texas found “systemic” failures in how the state issued CDLs to non-citizen drivers. Auditors sampled 123 CDLs issued between June 2024 and August 2025 and found nearly half failed to comply with federal standards. Texas was also warned it could lose $182 million in federal highway funding in fiscal year 2027 if violations went uncorrected. WFAA
The audit further cited a March 2025 crash in Austin that killed five people, in which DPS had erroneously issued the driver a standard Texas CDL rather than the required non-domiciled license — a mistake the agency attributed to personnel incorrectly determining the driver’s refugee status entitled them to a regular credential. WFAA
Texas has had the largest total issuance of non-domiciled CDLs among reporting states since 2015, issuing more than 51,993 such licenses, including 6,265 in 2024 alone. FreightWaves
The Federal Rule That Set It in Motion
On September 29, 2025, the Texas DPS suspended issuance of non-domiciled CDLs and all CDLs to non-citizens who are refugees, asylees, or DACA recipients, following an emergency rule change by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. San Antonio Report
FMCSA’s final rule, published on February 13, 2026, and taking effect on March 16, limits non-domiciled CDL eligibility to individuals holding H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 employment-based visas — thereby closing access to asylum seekers, refugees, DACA recipients, and most other work-authorized immigrants. The agency cited 17 fatal crashes in 2025 involving non-domiciled CDL holders whose fitness could not be verified, resulting in 30 fatalities. Federal Register
Drivers Left Without Warning
For many of the affected truckers, notice never came. While DPS stated that drivers were notified of their cancellations, none of the four truckers interviewed by the Texas Tribune — including drivers with nearly two decades of experience — said they received any advance notice. Roberto Linares, a 52-year-old trucker from Mansfield, learned his CDL had been rescinded weeks after the fact when he told his manager. Houston Public Media
The human toll extends well beyond paperwork. Veronica Viera, a 40-year-old DACA recipient and mother of four who had driven an 18-wheeler she called “Pink Panther” across Texas, discovered that her license had been canceled a week before, while offloading office chairs in San Antonio. She has since taken up work as an Uber driver. The Texas Tribune
Industry and Political Response
Texas officials have used the revocations as a launching pad for broader enforcement. House Speaker Dustin Burrows directed legislators to study whether non-citizen CDL holders are overrepresented in accidents, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pushed for stronger English-language requirements at trucking schools, and Attorney General Ken Paxton launched investigations into five trucking schools in late April for certifying drivers not proficient in English. The Texas Tribune
The state’s trucking industry sees limited economic risk. Texas Trucking Association President John Esparza said the revocations are unlikely to cause major disruption because non-citizen CDL holders represent a relatively small share of Texas’s nearly 724,000 active commercial license holders. Houston Public Media
Supply chain researchers are less sanguine. Texas A&M transportation professor Madhav Pappu said the sudden removal of drivers is already contributing to higher freight rates and could disproportionately harm smaller trucking companies that cannot absorb idle trucks, potentially forcing closures or consolidations. The Texas Tribune
