United States President Donald Trump has reportedly proposed replacing a large number of immigrant truck drivers in the country with American military veterans. The proposal, if considered, can affect thousands of Indian immigrants working in the US trucking industry.

Trump Targets Immigrant Truck Drivers

During a military investment summit in Pennsylvania, Trump accused some immigrant truckers of unsafe driving and claimed many were involved in illegal activities. Trump said his administration was preparing a nationwide crackdown on immigrant truck drivers, including those who entered the US illegally or did not have proper documents and licences to operate heavy vehicles.

"My administration will soon take historic action against illegal alien truck drivers who are just killing a lot of people," Trump was quoted as saying by PBS. He added, "They can't read signs. Many of them are on drugs or alcohol, and they shouldn't be driving these things, and they came in totally illegally, and we don't want them, but they are driving all over American roadways."

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Plan To Train Veterans

Trump said he wants to replace immigrant truck drivers with military veterans and provide them with training to operate trucks. "We're going to replace them with proud American veterans. We are going to take our veterans, we're going to make them, we're going to teach them a lot about driving trucks," Trump was quoted as saying by The New York Times.

He also said, "Any American who has driven a heavy truck for our military will automatically be eligible for a commercial driver's licence." However, Trump did not provide any details about how the plan would be implemented.

Immigrants In The US Trucking Industry

The Trump administration has been continuing its crackdown on immigrant truck drivers. According to a report by The New York Times, around 200,000 immigrant drivers who had legal permission to live and work in the US lost their licences in March as part of the crackdown. Many immigrants enter the trucking industry to earn a good income, which is further driven by shortage of American drivers.

Will It Impact Indian Truck Drivers?

The proposed changes can impact many Indian immigrants working in the US trucking sector. According to the North American Punjabi Truckers Association, around 130,000 to 150,000 truck drivers in the US are from Punjab and Haryana. They have already faced challenges due to previous policy changes, including mandatory English proficiency tests and Dalilah Law, which stopped the issuance of commercial driver licences to some immigrants or those described by the administration as "illegal aliens".

Moreover, Indian-origin truck drivers in the US have also faced criticism following several accidents and arrests. In November last year, India-born Rajinder Kumar was charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment after he allegedly killed a newlywed couple in Oregon by crashing into their vehicle. In February this year, Indiana State Police arrested two Indian truckers after a traffic stop allegedly revealed that they were carrying more than 300 pounds of cocaine worth USD 7 million.

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