This article examines a deadly Tennessee highway pileup tied to a driver who federal officials say entered the country illegally and later obtained a New York commercial driver’s license, the controversy over how that license was issued, and the sharp partisan arguments that followed.
Federal officials publicly identified the driver as 54-year-old Yisong Huang and said he illegally entered the United States in 2023. The Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation say Huang later received work authorization and a Social Security card, paperwork that paved the way for a Class B commercial driver’s license issued by New York State.
“It’s not just that Joe Biden let millions of migrants flood into our country illegally,” Duffy said in a statement Wednesday. “His administration doled out the documentation these unqualified foreign drivers needed to obtain trucking licenses and operate 40-ton missiles on the highway. The fact that this individual failed a basic English test also calls into question how he even got the license in the first place.”
Investigators say the crash happened on Dec. 9 when Huang was driving an empty bus on a major highway and became “distracted by a video on his phone.” Officials allege he rear-ended a tractor-trailer and set off a chain-reaction wreck that injured two people and killed one American citizen, Kerry Smith. Huang was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
According to federal statements, Huang told Border Patrol agents he was a Chinese national after entering the U.S., yet he was released with authorization to work and provided documents that established “lawful presence” through mid-2029. New York’s DMV records show his commercial license was issued on April 11, 2025, and those records say his federal paperwork was sufficient to meet state requirements.
“Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs. And yet, sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump Administration is ending the chaos. The brave men and women of ICE are working nonstop to get criminal illegal aliens out of our communities and off our roads.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a recent federal audit revealed alarming problems in New York’s CDL program, finding a very high failure rate in samples of non-domiciled licenses. According to Duffy, the state DMV “has been routinely issuing CDLs to foreign drivers illegally. The federal audit exposed a shocking 53 percent failure rate in the records sampled, indicating a total collapse in the administration of New York’s CDL program.”
New York’s DMV pushed back strongly, calling Duffy dishonest and promising to review federal correspondence. In an official response they argued that every CDL the state issues is subject to verification with federally issued documents and that the agency follows federal regulations. The back-and-forth highlights a sharp split over whether the problem is federal policy, state administration, or both.
“Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents. Here is the truth: Commercial Drivers Licenses are regulated by the Federal Government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules. Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant’s lawful status through federally-issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer. We will review USDOT’s letter and respond accordingly.”
This episode makes plainly visible a few urgent realities: a national border policy that allows large numbers of unauthorized entrants, state-level licensing systems that may not catch every mismatch, and the deadly consequences when commercial drivers are unvetted or distracted. The Republican argument is blunt—citizens deserve safer roads, strict enforcement, and an immigration system that prevents ineligible people from getting truck licenses.
Practical fixes Republicans are urging include stricter federal verification of immigration status for CDL applicants, immediate audits of state DMV procedures, and tighter oversight of work authorization processes. Lawmakers on the right say these are not partisan niceties but basic public safety measures, and they plan to press for accountability until the system protects Americans on highways rather than endangering them.
