The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing new regulations aimed at tightening English-language requirements for Mexican train crews operating freight trains across the U.S.-Mexico border. The initiative seeks to enhance safety by ensuring crews fully understand critical safety information and to protect American railroad jobs.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) introduced the proposal last week following inspections conducted last fall at two Texas rail yards near the border—Union Pacific’s Eagle Pass facility and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) terminal in Laredo. These inspections, focused on the Mexican crews working on both railroads, revealed challenges with crews’ English proficiency, particularly in understanding operating bulletins and U.S. safety regulations related to hazardous materials and emergency response.

In response, the FRA sent letters to Union Pacific and CPKC in December, urging them to reassess their crew management policies and ensure that Mexican crews can adequately communicate in English. The agency emphasized that crews should not operate trains more than 10 miles inside the United States. Both railroads affirmed their commitment to complying with current regulations and restricting Mexican crews’ operations within this boundary.

The proposed rule would formalize and strengthen these restrictions, underscoring the need for railroad crews to communicate clearly and accurately with dispatchers and emergency responders, especially during emergencies. The government stressed that clear communication is a safety-critical function necessary to maintain secure and efficient rail operations.

Union Pacific acknowledged the shared goal of maintaining safe, secure, and efficient supply chains and expressed willingness to collaborate with federal regulators throughout the rulemaking process.

This regulatory effort aligns with broader federal transportation safety initiatives, including recent measures to ensure commercial truck drivers possess sufficient English proficiency. The Department of Transportation has taken steps to withhold federal highway funds from states such as New York and California due to concerns over the validity of their commercial driver’s licenses and linguistic requirements.

Labor advocates have long criticized the practice of employing Mexican crews on U.S. soil. Mark Wallace, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, has raised concerns over several years about the safety and employment implications. Traditionally, train crew changes occurred directly at the border, but since 2018, with approval from the first Trump administration, Mexican crews have been allowed to operate trains several miles into the United States to facilitate safer crew handoffs at rail yards.

The proposed regulation’s firm limit of 10 miles inside the U.S. is expected to curb further extensions of this practice, reflecting the government’s intent to prioritize safety and maintain clear operational jurisdiction within the country. The railroads have maintained that the current system balances operational efficiency with safety considerations, but the new rules will codify stricter boundaries for foreign crews’ operations on American rails.