(The Center Square) – Florida’s attorney general is asking for revocation of commercial driver’s license program authority and associated federal funding in California and Washington.
James Uthmeier said the states’ choices on rules set by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are the reason. A triple fatal crash on the Florida Turnpike on Aug. 12 traces back to each state and its connection to Harjinder Singh, the driver of an 18-wheeler that tried a U-turn in a 70 mph zone leading to the deaths of three people in a minivan.
“States like California and Washington ignored the rules, gave an illegal alien a license to drive a 40-ton truck, and three people are dead as a result,” Uthmeier said in a release.
He called it a “preventable tragedy due to sanctuary state policies.”
Uthmeier added, “In response, we’re supporting our Agricultural Law Enforcement and state police to ramp up inspections at state entry-points for illegal aliens who may be operating large trucks using out-of-state driver’s licenses. If you’re here illegally or can’t speak English, you have no business operating large commercial vehicles on Florida’s roads. We commend Commissioner Simpson and his department’s 287(g) certified law enforcement officers for turning Florida’s interdiction stations into strongholds of immigration enforcement. Together, we will ensure dangerous drivers are taken off the road and criminals serve their time before deportation.”
Wilton Simpson, the state commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, deployed sworn law enforcement officers to interdiction stations that are distinct from Department of Transportation weigh stations. Simpson said checks for English proficiency of commercial drivers will be done in addition to agricultural inspections in an effort to stop human trafficking, fraudulent documents and unsafe commercial vehicles.
Simpson said, “With 23 inspection stations on Florida roadways and 100% of our officers being certified in the 287(g) Program, Agricultural Law Enforcement officers are uniquely skilled and positioned to help prevent another tragedy and be a force multiplier in the fight against illegal immigration and criminal activity.”
