'200,000 Immigrant Truck Drivers Are Officially Losing Their CDLs Which Will Almost Certainly Make Everything Even More [View all]

Expensive'

"President Donald Trump has scored another victory for himself and his base that is sure to hurt people of color and those who were already struggling to afford daily necessities. About 200,000 immigrant truck drivers are losing their commercial driver's licenses, thanks to a new rule from the Trump administration that takes effect March 16. It's sure to put the already-struggling trucking industry in an even more dire situation as energy costs surge thanks to the President's ill-advised war with Iran that he cosigned with Israel. Things are bleak, friends."

"The rule is just about as nonsensical as nonsensical gets. It bars immigrants who are asylum seekers, refugees or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from obtaining a CDL, according to The Washington Post. That's right, people who are here legally are barred from getting a license to drive a semi-truck because of, well, racism. Those who currently have a valid CDL will lose their privileges as their licenses expire, not immediately."

"The Trump administration will point to high-profile fatal crashes involving immigrant truck drivers last summer as a reason for the ban, but that's really a load of dogshit at the end of the day. Show me one immigrant-related (legal status be damned) truck crash, and I'm sure there are dozens — if not hundreds or thousands — of REAL PATRIOT truck drivers who have done something similar on the road. In a vile statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, 'For far too long, America has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems — wreaking havoc on our roadways.' Of course, a lawyer who is leading a lawsuit against the rule contends that even the Trump administration has conceded that there's no empirical relationship between a person's nationality and their safety behind the wheel."

"Those 200,000 drivers make up about 5% of all commercial vehicle licenses, according to The Washington Post. Because of long hours, low pay, dangerous road conditions and extended periods away from home, there's a ton of turnover in the industry. As Americans leave, immigrants have moved in and found worsening working conditions and deregulation."

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https://www.jalopnik.com/2124697/immigrant-truck-drivers-losing-cdls-expensive/