The lives of many immigrants in Texas were abruptly disrupted after the state canceled commercial driver’s licenses held by legal noncitizens, including refugees and asylum seekers. The move angered many Texas residents, some of whom viewed the measure as discriminatory and blamed Republican officials such as Governor Greg Abbott for targeting immigrants who are legally present in the United States.
According to The Texas Tribune, Texas was among the first states to take action after the federal government issued new guidelines on the subject. The argument behind the ban on commercial driver’s licenses for this part of the population is that removing non-English-speaking immigrant drivers from the roads would improve public safety. So far, more than 6,400 licenses have already been revoked in Texas, while another 3,300 have expired.
Several members of the Republican Party have spoken in favor of this change. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, for example, recently started a study to see whether noncitizens caused an increase in accidents to “protect public safety.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused five trucking schools of “endangering Texans” by giving licenses to drivers who were not proficient in English. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also publicly agreed with the requirement to speak English.
Texas Reacts to Immigrant Truckers Losing Their Licenses
Texans did not react positively to the change, with many viewing it as unjustified discrimination against immigrants. “Just another reminder that Texas Republicans are not conservative politicians but radical racists,” one user wrote. Another commented, “As much as I would like to say Texas is in a downward spiral, and they still might be. This is what the people want. How they got here is gaslighting and Fox News.”
Some people took a more sarcastic approach, saying, “Well, trucking companies, good job; now you’ll have to pay more Americans higher wages, oh wait, now you are doing layoffs?” While other bashed Latino voters for their choices: “I hope all those Latinos who voted over egg prices are happy now. Sure, eggs may be down $1, but everything else is a lot more expensive, and all Latinos are being heavily targeted.”
Despite the backlash, some supported the policy: “If you have ever had to deal with a driver who speaks no English on a job site, you will understand this.”
Unfortunately, these changes led to many immigrants losing their jobs, and it does not seem that they will be revoked anytime soon. The discussion continues, however, as Texans seem to be divided on whether this action was justified or not.
