Weeks after Illegal Alien Trucker Kills 3 in Fla., Oklahoma Nabs 125 with Commercial Licenses

Weeks after a criminal illegal alien with a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) killed three people while recklessly driving a big rig on a Florida highway, officials in Oklahoma have apprehended over 125 illegal immigrants with a CDL they did not qualify for, including one listing “No Name Given” on the card. This is a widespread problem caused by state driver licensing agencies that fail to ensure truckers have proper training or legal status in the United States before issuing the special commercial licenses. Adding to the problem, many Mexican truck drivers that consistently deliver loads north of the border do not speak English and cannot read American highway signs, endangering public safety across the country. Nearly 6 million trucks crossed from Mexico into the U.S. last year, according to government figures, and though federal regulations require drivers to sufficiently read and speak English and understand highway traffic signs the Obama administration relaxed the English proficiency rules in 2016 and directed inspectors not to penalize truckers.

Sanctuary states have contributed significantly to the crisis by allowing illegal immigrants to obtain licenses to operate commercial vehicles. The illegal alien from India who killed three people with his 18-wheeler in mid-August had a valid commercial driver’s license from California, a renowned sanctuary state. His name is Harjinder Singh and he tried to make an illegal U-turn on a busy southeastern Florida highway in his enormous tractor trailer, suddenly blocking all oncoming lanes and causing a brutal accident that instantly killed three innocent people. Federal authorities say video from inside the truck shows the exact moment Singh decided to break U.S. highway laws as he turned his big rig into traffic. “His face shows no shock or remorse for his actions or the lives he destroyed,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement says. The illegal immigrant, who is 28 years old, was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and recently entered a not guilty plea, according to a local news report that also says Singh first got his commercial driver’s license in Washington state before California.

There could be untold numbers of truckers like Singh driving big rigs on highways across America. In Oklahoma alone more than 125 illegal immigrants were recently apprehended in a targeted initiative known as Operation Guardian along Interstate 40 in the western part of the state. The licenses were issued by states like California and Washington that offer illegal immigrants sanctuary. The illegal alien drivers arrested in Oklahoma are from a variety of countries, including India, Uzbekistan, China, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Mauritania. The commercial license that listed “No Name Given” was issued by the state of New York. All the individuals posed a public safety risk by operating 80,000-pound commercial vehicles without proper verification, Oklahoma authorities say. “If New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them,” said Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. “The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.” He added that Operation Guardian, a partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was launched to help keep his state safe.

The Trump administration is working to crack down on the problem by strengthening federal oversight of how states issue commercial learner’s permits and licenses after the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) found systemic non-compliance nationwide, including in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. As a result, ineligible drivers and those with expiration dates extending beyond their legal stay in the U.S. were issued commercial licenses. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy also reversed the dangerous Obama-era policy that dismissed longstanding Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) English-language proficiency standards by placing noncompliant drivers out of service. “Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs,” Duffy said when he issued the order. “This common-sense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist.”