Governor Ivey Backs Trump Administration Trucking Crackdown as Alabama Leads the Way

MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday applauded the Trump Administration for launching a sweeping federal initiative to combat fraud and illegal activity in the commercial trucking industry, while highlighting Alabama’s leadership on the issue. Cracking down on these bad actors has been a priority of Governor Ivey’s. Through aggressive state enforcement, strong licensing standards and a close partnership with federal immigration authorities, Alabama is already delivering strong results and helping set the national standard for keeping illegal and unqualified commercial drivers off the road.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice announced their most aggressive interagency trucking enforcement effort to date, a coordinated national approach to targeting fraudulent commercial driver training and testing practices, illegal commercial operators and criminal activity within the trucking industry.

The Trump Administration also established the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, a multistate partnership focused on combating fraudulent commercial-driver licensing, illegal trucking operations and related criminal activity.

Alabama has been at the forefront of these same efforts through the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Motor Carrier Safety Unit (MCSU), its partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and strong standards governing the issuance of commercial driver licenses.

“President Trump and Secretary Duffy are taking decisive action to restore law, order and accountability to America’s trucking industry, and we are proud to help lead that effort,” said Governor Ivey. “Here in Alabama, we have already made it clear that those who are in our country illegally, cannot speak English or are otherwise unqualified have no business operating an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle. Through ALEA’s partnership with ICE and the dedicated work of our state troopers, Alabama is helping keep dangerous drivers off our roads and protect law-abiding citizens.”

Alabama’s efforts demonstrate the type of state and federal cooperation President Trump’s initiative aims to strengthen nationwide.

Since the partnership began on October 27, 2025, ICE personnel have joined ALEA’s routine commercial-vehicle enforcement assignments when available. Two months after the formation of the coordinated enforcement partnership, Governor Ivey announced significant results along Alabama’s major interstate corridors.

Since October 27, 2025, ALEA’s MCSU has assisted ICE with the detention of 561 individuals for immigration violations encountered during commercial motor vehicle enforcement activities.

Under the direction of Governor Ivey, ALEA has maintained a strong focus on English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Since January 1, 2025, MCSU Troopers have issued 1,022 ELP violations to commercial drivers.

Building upon those enforcement efforts, in March, Governor Ivey signed the Highway Safety and Fairness Act. The law requires foreign CDL holders operating in Alabama to possess valid United States work authorization, requires all CDL holders to demonstrate English-language proficiency and makes presenting a fraudulent foreign CDL during an enforcement encounter a criminal offense. The law takes effect October 1, 2026.

Alabama Trucking Association President and CEO Mark Colson credited Governor Ivey and Secretary Taylor’s leadership for establishing Alabama as a national model for protecting responsible trucking businesses and professional drivers while holding illegal operators and other bad actors accountable.

“Alabama’s trucking industry is built on the hard work of family-owned businesses, independent owner-operators and professional drivers who play by the rules. Bad actors who exploit loopholes in our regulatory systems are putting everyone at risk, and this is unacceptable,” said Colson. “We are encouraged by the progress being made at the federal level by Secretary Sean Duffy and Administrator Derek Barrs, and proud of Alabama’s strong and timely response to these issues. Governor Kay Ivey and ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor have positioned Alabama as a national leader in combating rogue operations and bad actors, creating safer highways for our citizens and a fairer and more equitable trucking industry in Alabama.”

ALEA strategically deploys enforcement resources to high-crash corridors across the state, including areas where ELP and other commercial vehicle violations are prevalent. ALEA has observed reductions in CMV-related crashes in specific high-crash corridors where these enforcement efforts have been concentrated. These efforts come as Alabama continues to make progress in reducing fatal crashes involving commercial motor vehicles. In 2025, Alabama recorded 106 fatalities involving CMVs, the lowest annual total since 2021. So far in 2026, the state is experiencing a 24 percent reduction in CMV-involved fatalities compared to the same period last year.

“Commercial motor vehicle safety is about much more than conducting an inspection or issuing a citation. It is about making certain the individuals operating these large vehicles are qualified, properly licensed and capable of doing so safely,” said ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor. “Under Governor Ivey’s leadership, ALEA has remained proactive in addressing these issues through targeted enforcement, federal partnerships and the work of our Motor Carrier Safety Unit. The progress we are seeing in CMV-related fatalities demonstrates why these efforts remain so important.”

Alabama also maintains stringent standards for the issuance of commercial driver licenses.

“Alabama did not wait for this issue to resolve itself,” added Governor Ivey. “We took action, we strengthened the law and took illegal operators off our highways. My message is clear: If you are here illegally, operating unlawfully or putting American lives at risk, you will be held accountable.”

Alabama does not issue non-domiciled CDLs and only issues CDL licenses to lawful permanent residents.

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