1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take action on an outdated and discriminatory policy—the English proficiency requirement for commercial drivers. This rule does not serve legitimate safety concerns but instead reflects cultural exclusion that disproportionately impacts immigrant and minority communities. The idea that a person must read and write in English to drive safely is simply false. Many nations—including Canada, Switzerland, and India—successfully operate multilingual transportation systems where drivers and officials communicate complex ideas without requiring a single dominant language. Modern interpretation tools, translation technology, and standardized symbols already make this possible in the U.S., yet we continue to impose an unnecessary language barrier on commercial drivers. Recent reports show that this policy is increasingly being used to justify racial profiling under the guise of compliance checks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been directed to audit foreign-born drivers at a higher rate, and enforcement disproportionately affects minority communities despite no correlation to safety violations. Instead of improving road conditions, this regulation serves as a gatekeeping mechanism, excluding skilled drivers who have already proven their ability to operate vehicles safely through CDL training and exams. I urge you to introduce legislation to: 1. Allow CDL exams to be offered in multiple languages, just as non-commercial driver’s licenses are. 2. Implement standardized interpreter services for road safety situations, rather than assuming English is the only valid form of communication. 3. Prevent discriminatory enforcement that targets drivers based on language rather than their driving record. America prides itself on diversity, yet policies like this contradict our core values of inclusion and equal opportunity. I strongly encourage you to take action to remove this outdated requirement that serves no real safety function and disproportionately harms minority communities. I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.