The United States has immediately stopped issuing visas for truck drivers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday, after a fatal crash raised anger within President Donald Trump’s base.
“Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio wrote on X.
“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” he wrote.
Rubio’s action came after a truck driver was charged with killing three people on a highway in Florida while making an illegal U-turn.
Harjinder Singh, who is from India, allegedly entered the United States illegally from Mexico and failed an English examination after the crash, according to federal officials.
The case has gathered wide media attention and has been raised prominently by officials in Florida, controlled by his Trump’s Republican Party, with the lieutenant governor flying to California to extradite Singh personally alongside immigration agents on Thursday.
The crash has taken on a political dimension as Singh received his commercial license and lived in California, which is run by the rival Democratic Party and opposes Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
The Trump administration accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of responsibility as the state issued Singh a license.
