INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA — Governor Mike Braun held a ceremonial signing Monday for Indiana’s new trucking law, praising the measure after the state revoked nearly 1,800 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses earlier this month.
Indiana House Enrolled Act 1200 took effect April 1 and has already reshaped enforcement tied to non-domiciled CDLs in the state. Officials said the law tightens licensing standards, adds new penalties for fraud, and increases consequences for companies that hire undocumented individuals to operate commercial vehicles.
State Says Law Is About Safety and Accountability
Braun appeared with lawmakers and trucking industry supporters during the April 20 ceremonial signing and said the law is intended to strengthen highway safety and accountability.
“Illegal aliens must never receive a CDL,” Braun said. “Indiana is taking decisive action to make sure this never happens.”
He also said the law creates new penalties aimed at non-licensed drivers and the companies that employ them.
One of the biggest changes under the law is that CDL testing is now effectively English-only, with drivers required to show sufficient ability to read, speak, and understand English. The measure also makes presenting false records to obtain a CDL, or lacking proper documentation while holding one, a felony.
Businesses found hiring undocumented immigrants as truck drivers can face fines of up to $50,000.
Nearly 1,800 Licenses Revoked
State officials said Indiana revoked about 1,790 non-domiciled CDLs after the law took effect, dropping the number of current non-domiciled CDL holders in the state into the single digits. The number still active is believed to be fewer than 10.
According to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the state has also paused issuing non-domiciled CDLs for now. Officials said issuance is expected to resume once staff training on the new standards is completed.
The state’s action followed a federal rule change last fall that narrowed which immigrants can qualify for non-domiciled CDLs. After that rule change, federal regulators notified 24 states, including Indiana, that non-domiciled CDLs had been issued incorrectly.
Debate Continues Over Safety and Workforce Impact
Supporters of the law said the measure addresses safety concerns on the highway. Todd Spencer of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers’ Association pushed back on claims that the law will worsen a driver shortage.
“Every year, over 400,000 new people become licensed truck drivers — over 400,000 — and that is an astronomical number of people that would like to be in this industry,” Spencer said.
Spencer said highway safety is a bigger issue for truck drivers than anyone else because they spend most of their time on the road.
At the same time, immigrant rights advocates have warned the law could lead to profiling and discrimination against foreign-born drivers. Workforce advocates have also raised concerns that reducing the driver pool could disrupt supply chains.
While some immigrant drivers have been involved in fatal crashes, including crashes in Indiana, officials acknowledged there are currently no hard statistics showing immigrant drivers are more dangerous than U.S. citizen drivers. The federal government has said it does not track safety statistics by immigration status or by type of commercial license.
Spencer said that lack of data needs to be addressed through improved collection and analysis.
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