By Admin 
The American California administration has taken an important decision regarding foreign drivers. In this, approximately 17 thousand professional driving licenses are to be cancelled. Because the Trump administration believes that many of these licenses have been handed out to immigrants illegally. This decision has been taken after an illegal Indian migrant driver took a wrong U-turn and met with an accident in Florida in August. Since then, steps have been taken to conduct professional driving license audit in the entire country. Three people had died in this accident.
At present, information about NRIs has not been shared by the administration. Truck drivers of Indian origin will be most affected by this step of the state government. Los Angeles Times, an American newspaper, had released a report in 2019, in which it was told that the Indian Sikh community had come forward to meet the shortage of truck drivers in the entire US including California for a decade.
News agency AP quoted California’s State Transportation Agency as claiming that the license had expired. The drivers were not allowed to be in the country legally. The report said that last month another illegal immigrant Indian truck driver had died in California. Three people had died in this accident itself, after which concern had increased. After the incident, the issue of illegal immigrant drivers became hot all over America.
However, US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy rejected the California Governor’s claim regarding the length of the permit stay. Also said that the decision to cancel the license shows that the state has not fulfilled its responsibility well.
According to the news agency, the Democratic Governor’s Office and the Republican Trump Administration’s Transportation Department have agreed that the licenses violate existing standards. However, this month the US Transportation Secretary had said that due to failing in the English proficiency test, the licenses of more than 7 thousand American truck drivers will be canceled in 2025 and they will be taken out of service.
According to AP report, out of 2 lakh non-American citizens, only 10 thousand licenses will be valid. This system will be applicable to those drivers who have H2-A, H-2B or E-2 visa. Among these, H2-A is for temporary agricultural workers. H-2B is for temporary non-agricultural workers. E-2 is for those who make substantial investments in American businesses. The new rules will not apply to existing drivers, they can keep this license till it is renewed.