What to know about visas for foreign truckers and the politics of a deadly Florida crash

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this week that the U.S. will pause issuing work visas to some foreign truck drivers, warning darkly that they are “endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”

He provided no details Thursday in his two-sentence post on the social platform X, leaving some in the trucking industry wondering if many drivers would be affected.

The short answer: No.

But the announcement appeared to be as much about politics as road safety, coming as a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver became increasingly politicized, with the offices of two ambitious governors battling publicly over responsibility.

With the Florida crash spilling into national politics, here’s what you should know:

Will many drivers be affected?

It depends how you define “many,” and the exact number isn’t clear. But it appears that at most a few thousand of the country’s estimated 3.5 million commercial truck drivers would be affected by the new directive.

The pause is aimed at drivers applying for three types of visas, the State Department said Friday, most notably the H-2B visa for temporary workers.

Only roughly 1,500 visas for truck drivers were issued this fiscal year under the program, and 1,400 last year, according to Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The program has helped offset what many observers see as a persistent shortage of commercial drivers.

But H-2B visas are capped for most years at 66,000, with drivers making up only a couple percent of the total.

The other two visa categories listed by the State Department are the E-2, for people who make substantial investments in a U.S. business, and the EB-3, which is for skilled workers such as health care employees, IT professionals and skilled tradespeople like electricians.

Trucking groups are pleased … and relieved

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a trade association representing small-business truck drivers, applauded the administration for “seeing through the myth of a truck driver shortage and continuing efforts to restore commonsense safety standards on our nation’s highways.”

The association dismisses talk of scarcity, saying there are often independent truckers available but companies prefer drivers who cost less.

Jerry Maldonado of the Laredo Motor Carriers Association, a group of 200 trucking companies operating on both sides of the southern border, was relieved when the State Department released more details about Rubio’s announcement.

Mexican and Canadian drivers operate in the U.S. with B-1 visas, he said, which allow non-U.S. citizens to enter the country briefly. Some worried those visas could also be paused.

“The announcement did scare some people, but I’m glad for the clarification,” Maldonado said.

The deadly Florida crash

Rubio’s announcement came after three people were killed when truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on a highway, according to the state’s Highway Patrol.

A nearby minivan slammed into Singh’s trailer as he made the turn. Singh and his passenger were not injured.

The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that Singh, a native of India, was in the country illegally.

The crash quickly turned political, with supporters of Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, blaming California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.

Both men have been mentioned as possible presidential contenders.

Homeland Security said Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, one of 19 states that issues licenses regardless of immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.

“Three lives lost because of Gavin Newsom. Because of California’s failed policies,” Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins said Thursday at a news conference in Stockton, California.

Singh, who flew to California after the Aug. 12 crash, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in that city.

DeSantis sent Collins to California to oversee Singh’s return to Florida, where he is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. Collins, accompanied by law enforcement personnel, escorted Singh onto the plane.

A Newsom spokesperson called Collins’ trip a “photo op” and criticized Florida officials for letting a “murder suspect walk.”

Safety? Or politics?

Trump administration and Florida officials insist that their concerns center on immigration and road safety.

In recent months the administration has taken steps to enforce English-language proficiency requirements for truckers, following incidents in which drivers’ ability to read signs or speak English may have contributed to traffic deaths.

On Friday the State Department also said the government is launching a review of how it screens foreign drivers and “enhanced vetting” will apply to those without valid visas.

Others see things differently.

“It’s part of this game to show the voters who put Trump in power that he’s doing his daily job to enforce immigration,” said Joseph, of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “You create fear and panic in communities that there’s a bunch of illegal alien drivers on the roads.”