'English isn't optional': Senate GOP bill takes aim at illegal immigrant truckers after Florida crash

Bodycam video shows illegal immigrant truck driver Harjinder Singh traffic stop with New Mexico trooper

Newly released bodycam video shows illegal immigrant truck driver Harjinder Singh being pulled over in a traffic stop with a New Mexico trooper in July. (Credit: @NewMexicoStatePolice via YouTube)

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to beef up federal laws for commercial driver's licenses after a deadly collision in Florida that killed three people.

Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., intends to introduce legislation that would crack down on commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) going to illegal immigrants and bolster English proficiency requirements to get a commercial license.

"If you’re a commercial truck driver in America, being able to competently read the road signs in English isn’t optional… it’s the job," Moody said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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Harjinder Singh, 28, was arrested after allegedly making an unauthorized U-turn in Florida that resulted in a crash that left three people dead, officials said. (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office)

Moody’s bill, the Safer Truckers Act of 2025, comes on the heels of a tragedy in Florida.

Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, allegedly struck and killed three people in a tractor-trailer while making an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway on Aug. 12. The trailer jackknifed and collided with a minivan, killing all three of its passengers. Singh held a CDL from California and was previously licensed by the state of Washington.

BLUE STATE INVESTIGATES HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER GOT LICENSE BEFORE DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH

Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Dirksen building on Feb. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter.

Some states allow migrants to obtain a regular driver’s license regardless of citizenship status, but CDLs are governed by federal law, which stipulates that proof of being a lawful permanent resident or an Employment Authorization Document are required to get a commercial license.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif, and Gov. Bob Ferguson, D-Wash., for comment but did not immediately hear back.

EXPERT REVEALS HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER MAY HAVE GOTTEN COMMERCIAL LICENSE BEFORE FATAL FLORIDA CRASH

California Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on during a bill-signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps on Aug. 21, 2025, in Sacramento, California.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Moody’s bill would ensure that CDLs are only awarded to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, or holders of a valid work visa. It would also codify requirements for states to report their efforts to uphold English proficiency requirements in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order from earlier this year requiring agencies to enforce such provisions.

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Federal investigators said Singh had failed English proficiency and road sign tests prior to the collision. Should states not enforce English proficiency requirements, their eligibility for federal funding could be jeopardized.

"States must ensure that folks are safe on our roadways, and if they don’t, they should forfeit federal funding," Moody said.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.