EXCLUSIVE: US Truckers Plead For Help As Foreign Drivers Use Illegal Gimmick To Rake In Millions

The largest trucking association in the country is pleading with the Trump administration to stop foreign nationals from ripping off American truckers.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA), which represents more than 37,000 motor carriers and suppliers throughout the U.S., is asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to put a stop to unauthorized Mexican drivers hauling point-to-point loads within the U.S., a process known as cabotage, according to a letter obtained by the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. The ATA argues this unlawful conduct by foreign drivers is a serious issue that hurts American truckers.

“A foreign driver engaged in cabotage is not a technicality or a minor paperwork violation,” ATA President Chris Spear wrote to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “It is outright lawbreaking that suppresses wages and work for American truck drivers.”

“U.S. carriers who flout these rules gain an unlawful competitive advantage over law abiding companies, distorting the marketplace and putting compliant operators at risk of closure,” Spear continued. “Each illegal load carried by an unauthorized foreign driver represents income stolen directly from a hardworking U.S. driver.”

Under current law, eligible Mexican and Canadian-based trucks and their drivers are permitted to deliver international loads into the U.S and pick up freight headed out of the country, but they are strictly prohibited from driving freight within the U.S., according to the ATA. However, the trucking industry has experienced an uptick in complaints over U.S. motor carriers unlawfully hiring Mexican B-1 visa drivers to deliver point-to-point loads solely within the U.S. without authorization.

Cabotage has been an ongoing issue for the industry for years.