Punjab Minister criticises US over visa pause for foreign truck drivers

Chandigarh [India], August 22 (ANI): Punjab Minister Aman Arora on Friday expressed disappointment over the United States' decision to pause the issuance of worker visas for foreign commercial truck drivers.
The reaction came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States would temporarily halt issuing worker visas to commercial truck drivers, citing concerns related to road safety and job protection for American truckers.
"Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers. The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers," Rubio announced in a post on X.
Reacting to the announcement, Arora told ANI, "This is very unfortunate. If someone goes there, they are going to earn a livelihood through hard work. Despite this, the way these individuals are being treated is unfair."
He further urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene in the matter. "The Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs should pay attention to this issue," Arora added.
Rubio's announcement comes shortly after the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lodged an arrest detainer for Harjinder Singh.
DHS, citing the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Singh, an illegal alien, on August 12 attempted to make an illegal U-turn through an "official use only" access point, which blocked all lanes of the highway with his truck and resulted in a wreck, causing 3 deaths.
In a post on X on August 18, Secretary Noem said that her team is working to "root out and prevent illegal aliens from obtaining these licenses from sanctuary jurisdictions that put American drivers and passengers in danger."
According to The Hill, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has launched an investigation into the Florida highway crash.
Earlier, in April, US President Donald Trump had issued an executive order requiring all commercial truck drivers operating in the United States to be proficient in English. He had designated English as the country's official language in a separate executive order in March. (ANI)