DOT cracks down on thousands of illegal immigrant truckers as agency looks to holiday travel: Duffy

"First off, President [Donald] Trump has been a remarkable leader. What he cares about is making government work better, making sure he's implementing the right policies for the American people. Not the rich, not the powerful, but average, everyday Americans," Duffy said when asked about the Department of Transportation's (DOT) crackdown on the trucking crisis.

"As you've seen, Homeland Security focused on the border and illegal migrants in the country. What we found at DOT is a different set of problems," Duffy said, adding that too many states have offered licenses to ineligible foreigners.

"They're not qualified to get a license. And under [former President] Joe Biden's tenure, [former Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg's tenure, millions of people have come into the country. And it seems like states across the country have offered commercial driver licenses to many of those people," he said.

"The problem is that you endanger the safety of everyday Americans who use our roadways. And, so, what we've done at DOT is say, 'Listen, unless you comply with our rules, we are going to take money away from your state.'"

On the other side of the country, Duffy said that more than half of the non-domiciled CDLs issued by NYSDOT were "issued illegally."

"So, we are going to use every resource, every tool that we have at DOT, to make sure that we have the right people on our road that are well qualified, well licensed. That are proficient in the English language to make sure we're maximizing safety."

He noted that while many people are focused on non-domiciled CDL holders driving big rigs, many are also qualified to therefore drive school buses, potentially putting children in danger.

As the Florida tragedy showed, those drivers also don't just stay in the states with lax policies.

"To be here with my wife at this event and the meaning behind it is incredibly honoring for us and to be able to talk to the young people who are here to honor Charlie and have our voices heard," he said.

"It couldn't be more thrilling and exciting, and I'm looking forward to taking the main stage but also having a chance to talk to a lot of the … young people, but people of all ages, are here to come and celebrate Charlie in this movement."

"[They should] know there could be some mishaps because it's so busy. But if you have that little angel on your shoulder and saying, 'I'm going to roll with the flow, and I'm going to do my best as a person who's going to get on an airplane and travel with multiple of the people,' I think the experience is going to be great."

Suggesting the DOT or FAA could receive complaints as they tend to during holiday seasons, Duffy said travelers should remember an important maxim when it comes to his agency's work.

"If there's any issue in any of those spaces -whether it's the controllers, the weather, mechanical - we will slow down traffic or we will stop traffic because we want you to be safe when you travel," he said.

"I don't want your flight delayed, but I'll take a delayed flight over an unsafe flight every day of the week, and that's what we focus on."

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden and a political organization linked to Buttigieg for comment.