Do they actually drive well enough to earn the CDL or is it "given" to them because of a driver shortage / they'll work cheap?
All of the above.
Rarely have I ever been scared to think I wasn’t going to make it. When I was taking my CDL class, I was that scared. Poor fella couldn’t get the truck out of first gear.
And there are many like him. Toss in the shortages and their willingness to work for peanuts. Easy to work for peanuts when you live with 15 of your relatives and all expenses are shared in addition to the women of the house getting all sorts of benefits for the US citizens they popped out at the nearest hospital.