On Monday, April 28, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring truck drivers in America to be proficient in English. This mandate has sparked concerns among Sikh advocacy groups, who argue that it could have a “discriminatory impact” on Sikh truckers and create unnecessary barriers to employment.
The executive order, titled Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers, emphasizes that truck drivers are crucial to the country’s economy, security, and the livelihoods of the American people.
Trump to sign order designating English as the official language of the U.S.
The order states that proficiency in English, which Trump has designated as America’s official national language, “should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers.” Drivers must be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety personnel, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers.
‘Common Sense’
“Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English. This is common sense,” the order reads.
While federal law already mandates that commercial vehicle drivers must be able to “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, understand highway traffic signs and signals in English, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records,” the requirement has not been enforced in recent years, leading to unsafe road conditions.
“Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English. This is common sense,” Trump’s order emphasized.
“My administration will enforce the law to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others, including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensure anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English,” Trump added in the order.
Significant Concerns for the Sikh Community
The Sikh Coalition has expressed deep concern over the executive order’s potential effects, specifically its requirement that all commercial vehicle operators in the U.S. must be proficient English speakers.
“We understand that, under this order, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will be directed ‘to rescind and replace guidance to strengthen inspection procedures for compliance with English proficiency requirements’,” the Sikh Coalition said.
The advocacy group raised concerns about the impact on the Sikh community, which holds a significant presence in the U.S. trucking industry. According to estimates by The Economist, around 150,000 Sikhs work in the trucking industry, with 90% of them being drivers.
“Our community has played a vital role in meeting the high demand for drivers and alleviating the stress of driver shortages on American consumers and the economy. Over 30,000 Sikh drivers joined the industry between 2016 and 2018, contributing significantly to this critical sector before supply chain disruptions in 2020. Sikhs help drive—quite literally—the American economy,” the Sikh Coalition stated.
‘Unnecessary Barriers’
The Sikh Coalition is still working with partners to understand the “legal implications and implementation process” of the order.
“However, we are concerned that it could have a discriminatory impact on Sikh truck drivers and create unnecessary barriers to employment for qualified individuals,” the group said.
The executive order also notes that it is the Trump Administration’s policy to “support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.”
The order directs that, within 60 days, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy will begin implementing actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.
Mr. Duffy announced that the Department of Transportation is taking steps to rescind the “dangerous Obama-era policy” that had dismissed English language proficiency (ELP) requirements for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
“Federal law is clear: a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English, our national language, and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America. This commonsense standard should have never been abandoned,” Mr. Duffy said. “This Department will always put America’s truck drivers first.”
The Department of Transportation emphasized that federal regulations stipulate that a driver unable to read or speak English or understand traffic signs is not qualified to operate a commercial vehicle.
However, in 2016, the Obama administration instructed inspectors not to take CMV drivers out of service for violations of the ELP requirements. The failure to enforce driver qualification standards has raised safety concerns and increased the risk of crashes.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has documented incidents where drivers’ inability to read signs and speak English may have contributed to fatal accidents.
I don’t think we should change our language requirements because a specific group is claiming it is a detriment to them. It is a detriment to the citizens of our country if they don’t learn English.