New bill would impose English proficiency standards for truck drivers

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to add stricter English proficiency requirements for truck drivers after an Obama-era rule change relaxed standards.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., plans to introduce legislation that would add stricter English proficiency rules for commercial truck drivers and an enforcement mechanism that would consider them “off duty” if they don’t meet the proposed standards.

The bill would add several standards, including ensuring that truck drivers can converse with the public, understand road signs in English, respond to official requests and make entries in reports and records.

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Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., plans to introduce legislation that would add stricter English language requirements for commercial truck drivers. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Wyoming families and travelers deserve safe highways,” Lummis said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “I am introducing this common-sense legislation to ensure that commercial truck drivers operating heavy-duty vehicles can simply read the signs, understand the rules of the road, and communicate effectively with law enforcement and emergency responders.”

The bill also follows President Donald Trump’s executive order earlier this year, which also added stricter English language requirements.

Trump’s order and Lummis’ bill would also require that a person operating a commercial vehicle that does not meet those standards be considered out of service, a measure intended to strengthen enforcement following a change made in 2016 under then-President Barack Obama.

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The bill follows President Donald Trump’s executive order earlier this year. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“This legislation will correct the major mistake the Obama administration made in undermining these rules and codify President Trump’s executive order to make our highways safer for all Americans,” Lummis said.

While English proficiency requirements have existed for truck drivers for decades, a 2016 memo from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration directed inspectors to issue warnings and citations to commercial vehicle drivers who failed to meet English proficiency requirements, rather than removing them from service.

Lummis’ bill, which she and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., are considering introducing, also has a companion version in the House, introduced by Rep. Harriet Haggeman, R-Wyo.

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Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from India, was arrested on August 16, 2025. (United States Marshals Service)

Both are named Connor’s Law, after 18-year-old Connor Dzion was killed in stopped traffic in Florida in 2017 when a Canadian truck driver, Yadwinder Sangha, crashed into the blocked vehicles.

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There was a similar incident earlier this year when Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, allegedly struck and killed three people in a tractor-trailer while making an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway on August 12. The trailer jackknifed and collided with a minivan, killing its three passengers.

Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., introduced legislation that would crack down on commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) given to illegal immigrants and strengthen English proficiency requirements to obtain a commercial license.