Trucking braces for immigration crackdowns

WASHINGTON — Trucking companies, independent contractors and owner-operators may start seeing enhanced scrutiny of their business as a result of several Trump administration executive orders aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration.

Four in particular — the America First Trade Policy, Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border, and Securing Our Borders — give U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enhanced oversight that could affect trucking, particularly companies specializing in hauling between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Hadeel Abouhasira, a business immigration attorney with the law firm Holland & Knight, provided insight into how these new policies could affect trucking operations, including the potential for higher costs.

FREIGHTWAVES: Broadly speaking, how will the policies under the new executive orders affect trucking?

ABOUHASIRA: The biggest concern for trucking specifically are the executive orders and policies that have to do with cross-border trucking for truckers traveling between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The National Emergency at the Southern Border and Securing Our Border executive orders could lead to longer processing times.

If the America First Trade Policy leads to increased scrutiny of truck drivers, some might face more difficulties renewing work permits or crossing the border, further complicating operations for companies that rely on international logistics.

Stricter criteria under the Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats executive order could result in higher denial rates for visas or in travel restrictions, affecting the availability of foreign drivers.

FREIGHTWAVES: What about long-haul trucking?

ABOUHASIRA: One concern is if drivers are contracted out by a company and that company gets a raid or audit from ICE and they want information about their truck drivers, the best general recommendation for drivers would be to make sure they carry evidence of their legal status.

Whether that’s their visa, whether that is their green card, whether it is their U.S. passport — whatever it is that they have that shows they are permitted to be in the U.S. doing the job they’re doing, whether they are an owner-operator or driving for a company. If there’s an accident on the road and a truck driver is pulled over, I think it’s important to make sure you have your documentation on hand to present to law enforcement.

FREIGHTWAVES: Should companies that employ independent contractors expect possible enhanced scrutiny of documentation as well?

ABOUHASIRA: All companies, including those that employ independent contractors, can expect possible enhanced scrutiny of documentation. However, where an employer hires an independent contractor, it is not required to do the I-9 employment verification form — that’s just for employees.

But there could be more scrutiny with companies that are hiring independent contractors where, for example, during an ICE audit or raid, ICE may ask for a list of everybody affiliated with the company, or companies you subcontract with, and it may trickle down to the driver.

FREIGHTWAVES: Could an ICE raid or audit affect an owner-operator out there hauling his own loads?

ABOUHASIRA: Yes, absolutely. Do I think ICE is likely to show up at an owner-operator’s home and ask to see documents? Probably not, but if an incident happens while on the road — a breakdown for example — or a driver is pulled over, that can become an immigration issue, potentially. In addition, if an owner-operator lacks proper work authorization, they may be detained or deported during an ICE raid. Always carry evidence of valid work authorization (visa and I-94), work permit (EAD), green card or passport on hand in case of an ICE inspection or traffic incident.

FREIGHTWAVES: What about drivers who are here legally? Can they expect to see more scrutiny?

ABOUHASIRA: Yes. Even though you’re here legally or employing drivers legally, one thing we’re recommending for clients is to conduct an I-9 audit for their employees — making sure they have all their I-9s in order and making sure they’re updating those I-9s when they need to.

We have a lot of clients that do internal audits of their I-9s so that they can correct errors that they may find during that internal audit. That way if there’s an audit from the government and they want to review it, they can see that the company already caught the error and made the correction.

FREIGHTWAVES: What are the larger implications for the trucking industry and the supply chain?

ABOUHASIRA: It could potentially lead to more administrative burdens and additional costs for these companies. The transportation industry is critical to our economy, and transportation workers are critical to those businesses, so if we continue to see pushback on some of those programs and visa authorizations, ultimately the result may be that consumers notice supply chain disruptions or higher prices.

Related articles:

• Making sense of Trump’s new trade war
• Truckload rejection rates surge in largest US-Mexico cross-border market
• Trump tariffs could raise consumer prices in short term, expert says

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

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