California Gov. Newsom’s policies are costing American lives: Over 100 illegal immigrant truckers arrested, blamed for deadly crashes killing Americans nationwide
Florida – After a number of deadly collisions that have alarmed people in many states, including Florida, federal immigration authorities have launched a large-scale campaign to crack down on illegal immigrant commercial truck drivers. Officials claim the crackdown was caused by increasing concerns that dangerous licensing systems are letting unqualified drivers drive huge commercial vehicles on public roads.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that more than 100 illegal immigrant truck drivers were apprehended during Operation Highway Sentinel. This was a coordinated campaign that focused mostly on California roadways but was started because of deadly crashes across the country. Federal investigators claim that some of those crashes were deadly ones in Florida that showed big problems with how commercial driver’s licenses are given out and checked across state lines.
ICE says that investigators found a pattern in which illegal immigrants got commercial driver’s licenses in California and then went to other jurisdictions, like Florida, to work as long-haul truckers. Authorities believe this behavior put drivers in danger and led to several deadly crashes involving big trucks. ICE said that at least eight people have died in crashes involving these drivers in multiple states.
People who were detained during the operation came from many other nations, such as India, Mexico, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and more. ICE authorities claimed that all 101 drivers who were arrested are being jailed while their immigration cases are under consideration.
Florida has been at the center of the national debate about the operation. This year, there was a deadly crash in the state that included an Indian national who had been given commercial licenses by both Washington and California, even though he had failed the examinations he needed to pass over and over again. According to investigators, the driver tried to make an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway, which caused his tractor-trailer to jackknife and a van to hit the truck. The crash killed three people.
“Gavin Newsom’s sanctuary state policies are costing American lives,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said. “His government knowingly issued thousands of CDLs to illegal aliens who had no business driving at all, let alone behind the wheel of a massive semi-truck. These drivers get their licenses, leave California, then terrorize roads all over the country.”
Later, officials in Florida said that the driver had failed his CDL test many times and had trouble with English, particularly understanding road signs. He did get a business license, though, which raises doubts about whether federal safety regulations were properly followed.
After the crash, Florida’s Attorney General’s Office sued California and Washington, saying that both states had given out CDLs in violation of federal safety and immigration rules. The lawsuit wants to stop the states from giving commercial licenses to illegal aliens and says that not keeping an eye on things closely enough puts public safety at risk outside of the states.
ICE officials believe that Operation Highway Sentinel is part of a larger attempt to deal with what they call “systemic risks” in the trucking business. Federal officials said that criminal groups that deal with human trafficking, labor trafficking, drug trafficking, and cargo theft have been targeting commercial trucks for a long time.
More than 200 people have been arrested around the country as a consequence of similar enforcement activities in states like Indiana, Oklahoma, and New York. ICE said more operations are likely because federal agencies continue to concentrate on stopping more tragedies on America’s highways. Florida is still a major concern because of its significant traffic and high number of commercial trucks.
