Almost 44% of the nation’s 16,000 truck driving schools could face closure following a federal Transportation Department review that revealed potential non-compliance with government standards.

On Monday, the Transportation Department announced plans to withdraw accreditation from nearly 3,000 schools unless they meet specific training requirements within 30 days. These schools are required to inform students about the potential loss of their accreditation. Additionally, around 4,500 other schools have been cautioned that they might also be subject to similar actions.

If these schools lose their accreditation, they will no longer be able to issue the necessary certificates that prove a driver has completed the required training to obtain a license. This could lead to a significant student exodus from these institutions.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is conducting audits of immigrant-owned trucking companies in California to verify the legal status and qualifications of their drivers for holding a commercial driver’s license.

This intensified scrutiny of trucking schools and companies is part of a broader government initiative to ensure that truck drivers are properly qualified and legally eligible for commercial licenses. The move was prompted by an incident involving a truck driver, whom Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted was unauthorized to be in the U.S., making an illegal U-turn in Florida and causing a crash that resulted in three fatalities. Duffy has warned that federal funding could be withdrawn from California and Pennsylvania over these issues. He also proposed stringent new restrictions on immigrant eligibility for commercial driver’s licenses, although these regulations are currently on hold pending a court decision.

“We are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses,” Duffy said.

The Transportation Department said the 3,000 schools it is taking action against failed to meet training standards and didn’t maintain accurate and complete records. The schools are also accused of falsifying or manipulating training data.

The list of schools being targeted wasn’t immediately released.

Trucking industry groups have praised the effort to tighten up licensing standards and ensure that drivers can meet basic English proficiency requirements the Trump administration began enforcing this summer. But groups that represent immigrant truck drivers say they believe many qualified drivers and companies are being targeted simply because of their citizenship status.

“Bad actors who exploit loopholes in our regulatory systems are putting everyone at risk. This is unacceptable,” said Paul J. Enos, CEO of the Nevada Trucking Association. “We are focused on solutions and resolute on seeing them implemented.”

Truck drivers of the Sikh faith have been been caught in the crossfire and faced harassment because the drivers in the Florida crash and another deadly crash in California this fall were both Sikhs. The North American Punjabi Truckers Association estimates that the Sikh workforce makes up about 40% of truck driving on the West Coast and about 20% nationwide. Advocacy groups estimate about 150,000 Sikh truck drivers work in the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond immediately to questions about the effort to verify the immigration status of truck drivers, but the United Sikhs advocacy group said they have heard directly from Punjabi company owners about these aggressive audits of immigration records.

“Sikh and immigrant truckers with spotless records are being treated like suspects while they keep America’s freight moving,” the United Sikhs group said. “When federal agencies frame lawful, licensed drivers as risks, it doesn’t improve safety — it fuels xenophobia, harassment, and even violence on the road. Any policy built on fear instead of facts endangers families, civil rights, and the national supply chain.”

California moved to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses after federal officials raised concerns that they had been issued improperly to immigrants or allowed to remain valid long after a driver’s work permit expired.