Donald Trump signs executive order for truck drivers, Sikh advocacy group raises concern

Trump signs executive order requiring English proficiency for truck drivers, raising concerns among Sikh advocacy groups.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (April 28, 2025) signed an executive order mandating that truck drivers in America are proficient in English, a requirement that has raised concerns among Sikh advocacy groups who say it can have a “discriminatory impact" on truckers from the community and create unnecessary barriers to employment.

The Executive Order ‘Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers’ says that America's truck drivers are essential to the strength of the country’s economy, its security and the livelihoods of the American people.

“Proficiency in English,” which Mr. Trump has designated as America’s official national language, "should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers. They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers," the order issued Monday says.

"Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English. This is common sense,” the order said.

The order noted that while federal law requires that, to operate a commercial vehicle, a driver must "read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records”, this requirement has not been enforced in years, and America's roadways have become less safe.

"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 that anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English,” Mr. Trump said in the order.

Advocacy group Sikh Coalition said it is “deeply concerned” about Mr. Trump’s order that seeks to “ensure all commercial vehicle operators in the United States are proficient English speakers.”