As of midnight Wednesday, Indiana has revoked all commercial driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, according to an announcement from Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.
“This is a great first step in making our streets safer for Hoosiers,” Beckwith said in a Tuesday X post. “Now it’s our duty to enforce these new laws and prevent any more senseless deaths.”
According to Beckwith’s social media post, all non-citizen CDL applications will need one of three approved work visas and will require drivers to demonstrate proficiency in English. Employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers without a CDL will be penalized with a $50,000 fine.
State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, authored House Enrolled Act 1200 during Indiana’s last legislative session, which made way for the state’s new law. As of Wednesday, all non-citizen workers must have one of three visas: H-2A for temporary agricultural workers, H-2B for temporary non-agricultural workers or a E-2 visa for treaty investors.
“Too many of these illegal drivers have killed innocent people and made our roads less safe,” Pressel said in a news release. “Indiana is taking a stand to protect Hoosiers against these dangerous drivers who are exploiting our laws and licensure process.”
In Indiana, it’s illegal for undocumented immigrants to receive a driver’s license, according to the National Immigration Law Center. The state has the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which requires immigrants to present identity and lawful status documents before receiving a license.
Those who are verified through the program and have proof of temporary lawful status will receive a Restriction 9 on their credentials and driver records, which indicates a temporary lawful status.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on Feb. 11, issued a final rule to stop “unqualified foreign drivers” from obtaining driver’s licenses for commercial trucks and buses.
Gregg Johnson, dean of Valparaiso University’s College of Arts and Sciences, said Indiana’s new policy is showing the state’s solidarity with President Donald Trump’s administration.
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“It’s a statement of, ‘Yes, we’re on Team Trump,’ which is a shock to no one,” Johnson said. “It’s already the policy of the state. … It wouldn’t shock me to see Indiana continuing to crack down on various immigrant-related issues, whatever those may be.”
The biggest effect of Indiana’s new CDL rule will be economically, Johnson said. Truck driving is difficult work, he added, and most people don’t want the long hours and time away from loved ones.
“The pay is decent but not outstanding,” Johnson said. “It’s been a challenge to get people to want to drive trucks, and one of the ways you could get people to drive trucks is by having immigrants to the U.S. — whether documented or undocumented — do the jobs that folks who are native born are less keen to do for less pay.”
Johnson also expects that there will be shipping challenges in Indiana because of the new rule. If the industry has fewer truck drivers, items will take longer to arrive, he said.
“This would drive up the cost of shipping because it’ll drive up the cost of labor,” Johnson said. “If you put that on top of the rising cost of fuel, then the economic effects are going to be that everything’s going to cost a little bit more.”
In October, Kristi Noem, former secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said that through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, more than 223 undocumented immigrants have been arrested on Indiana highways, according to Post-Tribune archives. Of these arrests, Noem said 146 were truck drivers, including 46 semi truck drivers and 82 box truck drivers.
ICE’s 287(g) program allows the department’s Enforcement and Removal Operations to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove undocumented immigrants “who are amenable to removal from the U.S.,” according to ICE’s website.
The actions were part of Operation Midway Blitz, the mass deportation mission that also includes Northwest Indiana. Through Operation Midway Blitz, Noem said ICE arrested about 3,000 people, according to Post-Tribune archives, and Noem said no American citizens have been arrested or detained, despite various news reports saying otherwise. Noem claimed “anything different is simply a false report.”
Gov. Mike Braun announced in the October news conference that the Indiana State Police plan to expand the program and assign traditional state troopers to help, according to Post-Tribune archives.
On Oct. 15, 2025, in Portage, 41-year-old Borko Stankovic of Lyons, Illinois, was involved in a fatal crash after driving a semi-trailer without a proper license, according to Post-Tribune archives. While held at the Porter County Jail, ICE filed detainer charges against Stankovic.
According to Post-Tribune archives, Stankovic is from Serbia and Montenegro and has been in the U.S. illegally since February 2011, when his non-immigration visa status expired. Portage police found that Stankovic only had an Illinois driver’s license and lacked the required CDL.