People who are lawfully in the United States but are not permanent residents can no longer receive temporary commercial driver’s licenses or learner’s permits in Oregon, state transportation leaders have ruled.

The decision in March permanently halted a program that issued these licenses to eligible recipients and sought to prevent the Trump administration from pulling millions of federal transportation dollars.

A commercial driver’s license is required to operate heavy vehicles like trailers or trucks that are an essential part of commerce. In Oregon, certain people could receive temporary versions of these licenses even if they didn’t qualify for a standard one because they were not a permanent resident or citizen.

About 900 people in Oregon currently have temporary versions of these licenses and learner’s permits, but the latest change means the state won’t renew them. The Oregon DMV will also not provide new ones or replacements. The licenses were valid for as long as a person was legally permitted to be in the United States.

Among the recipients are people protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, refugees, asylum seekers and others who meet the legal requirements to live in the country. The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported this development.

The move comes as the Trump administration seeks to implement new rules to make it harder for people to acquire such licenses in states nationwide, warning states like Oregon that noncompliance could result in funding being slashed.

Failing to comply with the new regulations puts the state at risk of losing about $23 million annually in federal highway funds, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Amid his widespread immigration crackdown, President Donald Trump and his allies have honed in on several fatal crashes involving people without legal status as justification for such policies. The administration has accused states like Oregon and Washington of lax policies that make their roads unsafe.

In Deschutes County, a fatal accident involving a commercial truck driver from India drew the attention of the administration, which said the man had entered the country illegally. The driver, Rajinder Kumar, faces manslaughter charges and has a trial scheduled for January.

Deadly crashes by drivers from India also occurred in Florida and California. Washington state acknowledged in 2025 that over several years it had inadvertently issued hundreds of commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens who were not qualified to receive them, sparking national attention.

The changes also come as the trucking industry nationwide remains mired in what leaders characterize as a “recession,” which saw a decline in products being shipped by freight. Jana Jarvis, the president and CEO of the Oregon Trucking Associations, said some companies are “parking their trucks and laying off drivers because there just isn’t enough volume” of goods.

In the short term, Jarvis said she didn’t expect the changes to have a major impact on the trucking industry in Oregon, partly because it’s “oversupplied” with drivers.

She acknowledged that while there are temporary license holders who were good drivers, she added: “If drivers can’t communicate in English, it’s difficult for them to understand some of the signage that will appear along the freeways or communicate with way station masters.”

“This is an effort to improve safety in our industry,” Jarvis said.

Still, Oregon does not have evidence that people with these licenses are particularly unsafe drivers, according to ODOT spokesperson David House. He noted the federal government has also not provided such evidence to the state.

The federal government “has cited individual tragedies but has offered no comparative crash‑rate analysis,” House said.

A state review of fatal crashes with commercial vehicles from 2020 to 2025 found that none involved non-permanent residents with these temporary licenses, House said.

The rule change does not mean the existing temporary licenses will be invalidated or revoked. House said licenses that were already issued will remain valid until they expire.

“Limited-term credentials expire on the date that the proof of lawful presence such as a visa expires,” House said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/04/oregon-stops-issuing-temporary-commercial-licenses-non-residents/