WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praising their leadership and the Trump administration’s actions to improve roadway safety by cracking down on the reckless issuance of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to illegal aliens after the deadly crash in Florida caused by an illegal alien who was issued a CDL license in California. The administration’s life-saving actions work to keep our roadways safe and ensure only qualified drivers operate commercial vehicles on America’s roadways as federal audits and enforcement operations uncovered widespread safety failures by states issuing CDLs to illegal and unqualified drivers.

Read the letter HERE or below:

Dear Secretary Duffy and Secretary Noem:

Thank you for the leadership you, your agencies, and President Trump have shown in advancing policies to make American roadways safe again. I appreciate your efforts to restore safety to our roads following the dangerous Obama-era policy that allowed drivers lacking English proficiency to operate commercial motor vehicles without the ability to comprehend basic traffic signs or speak our language.

Earlier this year, three innocent people in my state of Florida were killed by an illegal alien who was granted a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in the state of California. This gut-wrenching tragedy should never have happened, and I appreciate you both taking swift action to ensure this can never happen again.

One vital action in preventing the recurrence of this tragedy was the Department of Transportation’s emergency action this September, restricting eligibility for nondomiciled learner’s permits and CDLs in response to the ongoing nationwide audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This much-needed audit has already uncovered blatant disregard for public safety by certain states – especially California, which improperly issued more than 25% of its non-domiciled CDLs.

I was also grateful to see the Department of Homeland Security partner with state and local law enforcement to actively address the threat posed by these illegal and unqualified drivers. During September’s joint operation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, not only were 91 illegal aliens found to be operating a commercial vehicle with a CDL, but one illegal alien possessed a Real ID-compliant CDL issued by the state of New York to “No Name Given.” The New York Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed that this license was authentic.

The reckless issuance of these CDLs during the previous administrations is clearly a widespread problem. This licensing failure was further highlighted by Operation Midway Blitz, a joint ICE-Indiana State Police operation. As of October 30, this operation resulted in the arrest of 223 illegal aliens on Indiana highways, 40 of whom possessed CDLs.

Thankfully, your agencies and the current administration are working hard to address these very real safety issues and protect American drivers by getting unsafe and unqualified drivers off our roadways.

However, it is deeply concerning that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reportedly uses the very same drivers that your agencies have worked to keep off our country’s roads in order to protect American lives. These reports indicate the USPS has become dependent on a CDL workforce made up of illegal aliens, and, as a result, it is now rescinding its temporary ban on these same employees after only a few short days, despite guidance from the administration.

Your agencies have shown a commitment to addressing this threat, and I look forward to hearing how you plan to hold USPS and other agencies accountable for this negligence. I am also proud to support your efforts to protect citizens on our roadways by joining my colleague, Senator Ashley Moody, in advancing the Safer Truckers Act, which protects drivers by establishing lawful U.S. residency requirements for CDLs and requiring states to report their adherence to English proficiency standards.

I am also proud to have joined Senator Tom Cotton in advancing the Secure Commercial Driver Licensing Act, which requires all testing relating to the issuance of driver’s licenses to be conducted in English only. These bills are critical steps to build on your action to prevent further tragedies and prioritize the safety of Americans.

Thank you both again for your leadership on this critical public safety issue. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if there are additional ways Congress can support your efforts to make America's roadways safe again.

###