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<\/div>\nThe Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday lifted a restriction on commercial drivers licenses and permits for immigrants with temporary agriculture work visas and removed the Spanish language option for CDL tests following changes in federal requirements.<\/p>\n
In September, Texas halted commercial drivers licenses for many immigrants, including refugees, people with asylum and DACA recipients. The change on Monday will allow those with H-2A visas, designed for temporary agriculture workers, to again hold valid CDLs in Texas. Those eligible who have current CDLs may continue to use them until their expiration date, and those with expired licenses can file to renew them, according to a DPS press release.<\/p>\n
DPS indicated the shift was made in line with a new federal guideline from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published in mid-March, which permits H-2A workers to hold CDLs alongside H-2B and E-2 visa holders, which are temporary non-agricultural workers and treaty investors, respectively.<\/p>\n
Under the new federal guidelines, Texas has only been approved to grant H-2A visa holders commercial drivers licenses for now, the DPS release said. Eligibility for H-2B and E-2 visa holders in Texas \u201cwill be announced at a later date,\u201d according to the release.<\/p>\n
The limitation to the three types of visas was implemented to prevent \u201cdangerous foreign drivers\u201d from being given licenses, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a February statement, claiming that bad actors had previously been abusing access to commercial drivers licenses.<\/p>\n
The reinstatement came hours after DPS announced it would offer CDL license and permit knowledge tests only in English, removing the Spanish option previously offered, according to a DPS press release announcing the change.<\/p>\n
The hands-on CDL skills test, which includes the driving and controls test, has always been conducted exclusively in English. Interpreters were previously barred from the skills portion of the test, and applicants were required to \u201cbe able to understand and respond to verbal commands and instructions in English by a skills test examiner,\u201d according to a previous version of DPS\u2019 website prior to Monday\u2019s change.<\/p>\n
Gov. Greg Abbott directed DPS in September to \u201cstrictly enforce\u201d the federal government\u2019s new English requirements and ordered the agency to conduct English Language Proficiency reviews for all commercial license operators. The changes are also designed to align Texas\u2019 testing requirements with the FMCSA like the changes to CDl eligibility, the release said. The federal agency had its guidance on English language tests altered in May 2025 by Duffy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue is simple: We\u2019re not putting up signs in any other language than English. We\u2019re requiring drivers speak and read English as a bare minimum requirement,\u201d Duffy said in an op-ed in Breitbart previewing the 2025 changes.<\/p>\n
In late April, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced investigations into five trucking schools for allegedly disregarding English language requirements when administering CDL tests.<\/p>\n
Texas\u2019 Department of Motor Vehicles also introduced photo identification requirements for vehicle registrations and renewals in November aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from legally owning vehicles. Auto industry representatives and some county officials pushed back against the changes, citing safety and economic concerns for those affected.<\/p>\n
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.<\/p>\n
Topics<\/span> Texas<\/a> Agribusiness<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n