Unions Sue for Licenses for Illegal Immigrant Truckers

Strategic Insights -

Organized labor has led the charge for open borders "comprehensive immigration reform" alongside left-wing identity-politics groups, pushing for expanded access to work for questionably legal foreign nationals. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are suing to ensure that illegal immigrants or migrants in unstable legal statuses can drive trucks on U.S. highways, citing public safety concerns. However, critics argue that this push is driven by the unions' interests in expanding their membership and influence, rather than a genuine concern for public safety.

Key Takeaways:

  • Since 2000, organized labor has led the charge for open borders "comprehensive immigration reform", including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
  • In 2025, the AFT received $10,000 plus $75,000 to its political action committee from UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza), a left-wing identity-politics group.
  • The unions are suing to ensure that illegal immigrants or migrants in unstable legal statuses can drive trucks on U.S. highways, alleging that current regulations are discriminatory and put people authorized to work in the United States out of work.
  • The lawsuit is supported by other pillars of "Everything Leftism", including Public Citizen, an advocacy group founded by environmentalist and anti-business campaigner Ralph Nader.
  • The Department of Transportation issued emergency rules limiting the visa categories that make foreign nationals eligible for a commercial driver's license (CDL) and restricting the length of time for which a "non-domiciled CDL" for a foreign national may be valid.
  • According to shipping-industry website Overdrive Online, the absence of such regulations allowed foreign nationals of unstable legal status, especially "parole" under the Biden administration's CHNV program, to obtain CDLs.

Statistics:

  • Since 2000, organized labor has led the charge for open borders "comprehensive immigration reform" (Source: Capital Research Center)
  • $10,000 plus $75,000 was received by UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza) from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in 2025 (Source: Capital Research Center)
  • The number of fatal crashes involving big rigs has increased in recent years, drawing attention to the issue of who qualifies for a commercial driver's license (CDL) (Source: Overdrive Online)
  • The Transportation Department's emergency rules limiting the eligible visa categories and restricting the length of time for which a "non-domiciled CDL" for a foreign national may be valid were issued in response to a series of fatal crashes (Source: Capital Research Center)

Sources:

  • Capital Research Center, "Unions Sue for Licenses for Illegal Immigrant Truckers" (October 31, 2025)
  • UnidosUS, "About Us"
  • American Federation of Teachers, "AFT and AFSCME Sue to Protect the Rights of Immigrant Workers"
  • Public Citizen, "Public Citizen on the Trump Administration's Immigration Policy"