- Foreign B-1 visa truckers from Mexico and Canada are illegally hauling domestic U.S. freight, despite rules prohibiting them from picking up loads within the country after delivering international shipments.
- These drivers, often hired by U.S. or Mexican carriers, undercut American truckers by accepting lower rates, forcing small businesses to shut down due to unsustainable competition.
- Some U.S. and Mexican carriers exploit the system by paying foreign drivers less or using shell companies and dual-plated trucks to bypass regulations.
- Small trucking companies, like Gerry Reed’s in Texas, have closed due to financial strain, while owner-operators report losing work to B-1 drivers along key routes like I-35.
- The American Trucking Association (ATA) urges the DOT to collaborate with Homeland Security and ICE to crack down on cabotage violations, warning of economic harm to U.S. truckers.
(Natural News)—Mexican and Canadian B-1 visa drivers have been pushing small trucking companies in Texas off the road by violating cabotage laws and illegally driving down freight rates.
Under U.S. law, foreign truckers with B-1 visas are permitted to transport goods from their home country into the U.S. but are prohibited from picking up domestic loads once inside American borders. However, many drivers, often hired by U.S. or Mexican carriers, ignore these rules, staying in the U.S. to haul freight at lower rates than American truckers can afford.
For instance, a legal B-1 visa driver from Mexico can only pick up a load in Reynosa, cross into Pharr, Texas, and either return with a Mexico-bound shipment or deadhead back empty. Instead, many drivers take new U.S. loads, traveling deep into the country – a clear violation of cabotage laws. (Related: Poorly vetted foreign drivers flooding U.S. highways, causing deadly crashes.)
Some U.S. carriers exploit this loophole by paying Mexican drivers far less than American truckers. Others involve Mexican carriers setting up U.S.-based shell companies and leasing trucks with both U.S. and Mexican plates to bypass regulations.
The issue is not limited to Mexican drivers. Canadian B-1 visa holders have also been illegally hauling U.S. freight for years, further squeezing American truckers.
This, in turn, has forced Gerry Reed, a small trucking company owner in Southern Texas, to shut down his business in December after years of struggling to compete with foreign B-1 visa drivers illegally hauling freight across the United States.
“I closed in December, because I saw what was going to happen now,” Reed said in an interview with Freight Waves. “There was no reason to try and keep up with the B-1 drivers’ nonsense. No one really understands what’s happened, and there are too many interests in between.”
Another anonymous South Texas fuel hauler said the problem is rampant along Interstate 35.
“Look at I-35 coming out of Laredo: All you see is the Mexican trucks coming across going north and nine out of 10 trucks are B-1 drivers; it’s just getting out of hand,” the fuel hauler said FreightWaves in an interview. “I’m an owner-operator. I have a few trucks that I operate as a regional hauling business, but I can’t compete with the B-1s. You have a lot of B-1 drivers, they take less pay, and you lose work because they can get the work. I can’t afford to drop down on my rates. Nobody will be making money, right?”
ATA to DOT: Collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies
In line with the ongoing problem, American Trucking Associations (ATA) President Chris Spear has urged the Department of Transportation (DOT) to collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies to stop the practice.
“While we recognize this is not within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s immediate purview, we urge you to work with the Homeland Security Investigations Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to better patrol violations of international drivers operating domestically with a B-1 visa,” Spear wrote in an open letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Moreover, Costello expects a coming crackdown by the Trump administration on companies illegally employing Mexican B-1 visa holders.
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- Get ready for more shortages: Truck driver shortage is getting worse and there aren’t enough drivers to fix the problem.
- Trump’s English-language rule for truckers sparks exodus of foreign-born drivers.
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