SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Forty Mexican truckers have lost privileges to drive on U.S. highways due to their lack of English skills, industry officials say.
Back in April, President Trump issued an executive order enforcing an existing law that mandates all truck drivers know enough English to read road signs and interact with law enforcement north of the border.
The order officially went into effect June 26.
Israel Delgado Vallejo, vice president of the Northwest Chapter of the Chamber of Freight Transportation, said the drivers taken out of service were driving through Texas, Mississippi or Arkansas.
“The enforcement has been primarily in these states, but no one has lost their license in California,” he said.
He said drivers who have lost their license to drive in the U.S. face $10,000 to $50,000 fines if they are caught driving again without improved English proficiency.
Delgado Vallejo estimates about 80,000 truck drivers from Mexico cross the border on a daily basis with 70 percent of them lacking the ability to speak or understand enough English to meet the criteria.
“Twenty to 30 percent can easily manage, but the remaining 70 percent probably can’t hold a conversation or know basic English to get by, but if you take them all off the road, it will have severe implications in the supply chain and cripple the economy of both countries,” he said.
According to Delgado Vallejo, his group and others in the trucking industry are offering classes for drivers who wish to learn and improve their English comprehension.
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