If you are a commercial truck driver, this is something you need to know right now. Homeland Security Investigations, also known as HSI, and the Department of Homeland Security are currently conducting deep, lengthy inspections of commercial driver’s licenses across the country. This is not a rumor. It is actively happening, and it is targeting the trucking industry specifically.

Attorney Kamala Sessoms has many clients who are truck drivers, and she brought this topic to the community as soon as the news broke because the consequences of being caught off guard at a roadside stop are serious. Here is what every CDL holder needs to understand before they get behind the wheel.

What Is Happening With CDL Inspections Right Now?

HSI and the Department of Homeland Security are conducting coordinated inspections of commercial drivers at roadside stops and truck stops, checking both immigration status and English language proficiency.

Agents are pulling trucks over on the road and going directly to truck stops — the ones everyone sees on the freeway. When they make contact with a driver, they are asking for information and running checks. This is not limited to carriers or employers. It is happening at the individual driver level, on the side of the road.

Mistake 1: Driving With an Expired Employment Authorization Card

If your CDL is valid but your employment authorization card has expired, you can be stopped and pulled out of your truck at a roadside.

This is the first and most urgent thing to understand. A valid commercial driver’s license on its own is not enough if the work authorization that supported it has since lapsed. It does not matter that you have been driving legally for years or that your license itself has not expired. If your employment authorization card is expired — whether because you have not yet received your renewal or because you have been unable to renew it — you are at risk of being stopped and detained at a roadside inspection.

Do not wait until your next renewal is due to address this. If your employment authorization card is expired or close to expiring, contact an immigration attorney now.

Mistake 2: Carrying Your License Without Your Certificate

Inspectors are checking English language proficiency, and several driving schools have already been shut down for passing drivers who did not meet the standard — which means your license alone may not be enough to protect you.

Federal agents are specifically looking at whether CDL holders genuinely passed their tests. A number of driving schools have been shut down on the grounds that their records were not valid or that they were approving drivers who did not have the required English proficiency or the proper testing facilities. If you tested through one of those schools, you could face questions about your license even though you earned it legitimately.

The way to protect yourself is simple: carry your actual CDL certificate — not just your license card, but the certificate that shows you completed and passed your test and did everything correctly. If an inspector raises a question, you can hand them that document and let it speak for itself.

Mistake 3: Explaining Yourself Instead of Exercising Your Rights

No matter what happens during an inspection, you have rights — and the most important one is the right to remain silent.

When agents begin asking questions, you can produce your documentation. You can hand over your CDL certificate, your license, and your proof of legal status. But you do not have to say anything beyond that. You do not need to explain yourself. You are not required to answer questions about your history, your background, or anything beyond what your documents already show. Simply provide the paperwork and say nothing more.

The other thing you need to have in place before any of this happens is an attorney. Have legal representation arranged in advance, so that if you are taken into custody, your family knows exactly who to call and your attorney can begin working on your case immediately. Do not wait until after a detention to find a lawyer. By then, the most critical hours have already passed.

How Sessoms Law Group Can Help

No matter what, remember that you have rights, and those rights matter at every step of this process. Sessoms Law Group works with truck drivers and their families throughout Georgia, and our team speaks Spanish. Whether you need to review your current documentation, understand how these inspections may affect you, or have a family member who has already been detained, we are ready to help.

If you drive commercially and you have questions about how this affects you, call us now. Do not wait to be stopped on the side of the road to get answers. Call us at 678-853-7402 or contact us to talk through your situation and understand your options.

Last updated: September 2026