washingtonpost Some 200,000 immigrant truck drivers will begin to lose their commercial driver’s licenses as they expire under a new Trump administration rule that takes effect Monday. The Transportation Department’s rule will weigh on the beleaguered trucking industry, which is critical to transporting goods across America at a time when energy costs are surging due to the war in Iran. The rule bars immigrants who are asylum seekers, refugees or recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses. And it’s part of the Trump administration’s widening campaign against immigrant truck drivers following several high-profile accidents last summer. Those with valid commercial driver’s licenses will lose their driving privileges as their licenses expire, not immediately. About 200,000 immigrants in the United States hold about 5 percent of all commercial driver’s licenses, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Trucks are the main way that goods — from food to heavy machinery to hazardous materials — are transported within the United States, moving more than 70 percent of the nation’s freight, according to a trade group. With long hours, low pay, dangerous road conditions and extended periods away from home, trucking is plagued by high turnover rates. As Americans have left the industry, immigrants have moved in amid worsening working conditions and deregulation. Read more at the link in our bio. View all 2,164 comments