Texas House considers state prohibition of Mexican CDLs amid safety and cabotage concerns
Concerns over Mexican CDLs and cabotage at center of Texas House Transportation Committee hearing
The Texas House Transportation Committee held a hearing Monday outlining issues still plaguing the trucking industry.
The hearing was held at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas on Monday, August 17th.
According to KVUE, the Texas House heard testimony regarding concern over drivers operating with only a Licencia Federal de Conductor, or a Mexican CDL. Texas DPS Major Omar Villarreal says that the Mexican government switched to digital licenses in 2021, which has allowed for drivers of all nationalities to dishonestly obtain a Mexican CDL. Mexican CDLs are still recognized as legal in the United States to facilitate loads between the two countries, but these technically legal CDLs cause concerns over safe, legal drivers and cabotage.
“In April of 2021, the country of Mexico went to a digital commercial license, and going to a digital license opened the door for this type of fraud,” Texas DPS Major Omar Villarreal said. “The driver in the U.S, never a citizen of Mexico, would reach out to a contact by word of mouth in the Mexican government, wire money over, and instantly would receive a digital Mexican license.”
Texas DPS officials say that the switch to virtual Mexican CDLs led to an influx of foreign drivers in the state, which led to legislation passed in 2023 requiring a driver with a Mexican CDL to also posses a work visa to operate legally in the state. Authorities say that this legislation decreased the number of unqualified truck drivers on Texas roads and lowered the amount of truck-related crashes, but that there is still more to do to make Texas a safer place to drive.
During the hearing, leaders in the trucking industry urged lawmakers to rethink the legality of Mexican and Canadian CDLs in the country. These leaders say that Mexican drivers are using their CDLs to take US loads, known as cabotage, instead of across the border. That practice is taking jobs and income away from American drivers, and putting citizens at risk out on the road. Canadian drivers also participate in cabotage, but the practice seems less prevalent than with drivers hailing from Mexico.
“If you go back and you look at the North American Free Trade Agreement, the USMCA, the intent for reciprocal agreement with that Mexican LFC was for the international transportation of goods. It was never intended to be used for intrastate purposes,” Villareal said. “These drivers are here in Texas undercutting American labor, working for American companies. They’re unqualified drivers, and they’re placing the public at risk.”
No legislation was introduced at the hearing, but lawmakers did hear arguments for the state prohibition of CDLs issued by Mexico and Canada.
“We are talking about individuals operating vehicles weighing 80,000 pounds or more alongside our highways and Texas families,” John Esparza, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Trucking Association, said. “This is not about where someone was born or the language they speak at home. It is whether the individual can safely perform that job.”