BLUF: America’s trucking industry is being reshaped by illegal immigration, and insiders say it’s hitting safety, jobs, and national security all at once.
Ben Bergquam, host of Real America’s Voice: Law & Border, caught an airport conversation on Sunday that pulled the curtain back on what many drivers already feel: the system is breaking. His interview with Shannon Everett of American Truckers United (@atutruckers) laid out why.
WATCH:
The Bottom Line: Since 2021, the Biden administration’s open-border policies have made it possible for asylum applicants to quickly get work permits, which in turn have been used to obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). Everett says this has flooded the trucking industry with “hundreds of thousands” of non-citizen drivers — many without the training, language skills, or vetting needed to safely operate 80,000-pound rigs.
Why it matters:
- Safety: Everett described multiple crashes, including a fatal 2024 wreck in Arkansas. The driver, he said, couldn’t read highway signs, lacked a proper CDL, and carried a fake license. “Mark Brian’s dead because of this,” Everett told Bergquam.
- Jobs: U.S. truckers are getting squeezed out. “They’re working for slave wages,” Everett said of new drivers, noting many small American trucking firms can’t compete.
- Economy: The industry is in the longest freight recession on record — over three years — which Everett argues aligns directly with the surge of non-citizen drivers.
- National Security: State police generally can’t enforce immigration law on highways. That means thousands of trucks are on U.S. roads with little immigration oversight. Everett says some states are now using 287(g) agreements to finally deport drivers on the spot, but enforcement is still minimal.
What to do: Everett insists this problem isn’t going away without political will. He calls for stronger enforcement, stripping out fraudulent CDLs, and rebalancing the labor market in favor of American workers. “Talk to your legislators. Tell everybody you know we have illegal alien drivers running 80,000-pound trucks all over the United States,” he urged.
Where to follow up:
- Ben Bergquam: Host of Law & Border on Real America’s Voice
- Shannon Everett / American Truckers United: @atutruckers | www.americantruckers.com
The takeaway: Bergquam’s clip wasn’t just another border-policy rant — it was a window into how immigration policy is colliding with daily life on America’s highways. If Everett’s account is right, this isn’t abstract politics. It’s about who’s behind the wheel of the trucks passing your family on the interstate.