Truck drivers association reacts to federal pause on work visas
The White House announced they are putting a pause on issuing new visas for foreign truck drivers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post that the decision is being made because foreign truck drivers are “undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”
An association that represents many truckers who come from Mexico said they’re not worried about truck drivers who only drop off goods in the U.S. and return to their home country. But they believe any disruptions to the flow of truck traffic could mean higher prices at the store.
READ MORE: State Department pauses issuing work visas for commercial truck drivers
“The prices is the first [thing] impacted and it's going to go up,” Canacar Trucking Association Chapter President Edgar Zamorano said. “At the moment — if we don't have enough drivers, we will be impacted to all the logistics in the United States."
The Trump Administration also announced they will be reviewing more than 55 million people who have a valid U.S. visa for any violations that could lead to a deportation. This includes seeing if someone overstayed their visa or committed any criminal activity.
Foreign truck drivers who have an employment authorization document, along with a record of their arrival and departures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, may get a CDL license in the U.S.
This does not apply for truckers from Canada and Mexico.
After this story aired on Friday evening, a spokesperson with CBP provided this statement to Channel 5 News on how the visa pause will be implemented:
“In support of CBP’s mission to secure the borders and protect the homeland, we conduct thorough screening and vetting for any individual we encounter at our borders to identify those who pose threats to public safety and national security. CBP coordinates with federal, state, local, and international partners to effectively identify, screen, and interdict travelers – including foreign nationals and their truck cargo – who may pose a threat to the American people as well as lawful trade and travel.”
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