The US Department of Transportation implemented strict measures against foreign commercial drivers by revoking the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) of approximately 200,000 temporary-status immigrants. The decision follows a push by the Trump administration to pass the "Dalilah Law" through Congress, aiming to permanently bar undocumented immigrants from holding commercial licenses and impose harsher penalties for non-English-fluent drivers. The White House cited safety concerns following high-profile traffic incidents to justify the move, even as the Department of Homeland Security was forced to suspend aggressive roadside immigration sweeps following fatal incidents during traffic stops.

The administration's strategy seeks to replace foreign drivers with American military veterans, yet the policy risks crippling nationwide supply chains. This massive license revocation hits the freight industry during an ongoing structural labor crisis. Around 70% of logistics companies report severe recruitment difficulties, driven by an aging workforce, 70-hour workweeks, and grueling road conditions. Industry experts warn that removing tens of thousands of experienced operators overnight will create severe bottlenecks in domestic freight transport.

To safeguard their distribution networks, major retail operators like Walmart have aggressively hiked driver compensation, pushing starting annual salaries up to $130,000. However, analysts doubt whether domestic wage hikes alone can bridge such a massive operational deficit, raising serious concerns over rising freight costs and systemic delays across the US freight ecosystem.