Sanctuary states need crackdown as Americans pay price for illegal immigrant truckers: GOP lawmaker

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds is calling for a national crackdown connected sanctuary-state policies that let amerciable immigrants to get commercialized drivers licenses aft a associated ICE and Oklahoma Highway Patrol cognition arrested 70 amerciable immigrants, including 34 accused of driving large rigs portion successful the U.S. unlawfully.

"You person bluish states that bash not attraction astir the nation's laws. They privation to beryllium sanctuaries, they privation to location illegals, and past who pays the terms are citizens successful reddish states who really bash not privation these sanctuary policies," Donalds, a Republican, told Fox News Digital.

Donalds said the incidental successful Oklahoma underscores a increasing nationalist information hazard – overseas nationals who "cannot work our roadworthy signs" yet are "gaming the system" to get commercialized licenses successful states similar California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey.

"You person the American people, they're doing the close thing, and present they're taxable to losing their lives oregon being successful an car mishap with a CDL operator who cannot work our signs, who doesn't cognize our laws," helium said. "These commercialized driver’s licence operators [are] driving rigs that are 80,000 pounds. That's insane."

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A multi-vehicle clang involving semi-trucks connected the I-10 Freeway successful San Bernardino County, Calif., that progressive an amerciable migrant driver. (KTLA)

Donalds said authorities helium has introduced, the WEIGH Act, would springiness the national authorities caller tools to halt states from issuing CDLs to amerciable immigrants and to punish those that do.

"This is 1 of the reasons wherefore I sponsored the WEIGH Act present successful D.C.," helium explained. "It would really springiness broader authorization for the Department of Transportation to not conscionable clasp different states accountable that are letting these CDL licenses beryllium issued, but would besides springiness the Department of Treasury the quality to withhold national funds successful the process."

"If you really penalize these states for allowing this behavior, they'll past person to crook astir and hole it connected their end," Donalds said. "And that's however you prevention lives of the American people."

The measure would besides let the Department of Transportation to behaviour migration and English-proficiency checks astatine measurement stations nationwide.

"If there's a nonaccomplishment successful 1 of those two, past they detain that driver," helium said. "It gives them the authorization to withhold national proscription dollars from those states… and those are the 2 mechanisms we judge that volition halt a batch of these sanctuary policies successful California, successful New York, and different bluish states successful America."

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Bodycam inactive shows Harjinder Singh holding paperwork arsenic a New Mexico State Police serviceman issues him a speeding summons during a July 3 postulation stop. He is accused of causing a clang successful Florida that killed 3 radical successful August. (New Mexico State Police bodycam)

Donald's comments travel aft ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol announced "Operation Guardian," a two-day enforcement expanse successful precocious October that resulted successful 70 arrests, including 34 individuals operating commercialized trucks portion successful the U.S. illegally.

ICE said 26 of those drivers held CDLs issued successful sanctuary states, portion 8 others had nary commercialized licence astatine all. The cognition was conducted nether Oklahoma’s 287(g) concern with ICE to code public-safety concerns tied to unlicensed and unauthorized drivers.

ICE’s Marcos Charles, enforcement subordinate manager for Enforcement and Removal Operations, said galore of those detained "were operating 80,000-pound tractor-trailers and, successful immoderate cases, could not work basal English," calling it a "serious road information risk."

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ICE said Akhror Bozorov, a transgression amerciable alien from Uzbekistan, was issued a CDL from Pennsylvania. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt praised the effort, saying the authorities would proceed enforcing "common-sense standards" requiring ineligible presumption and English proficiency for commercialized drivers.

Donalds said the information extends acold beyond 1 state.

"It's similar idiosyncratic driving an 80,000 lb motortruck that can't see. It's that dangerous," helium said. "The contented that happened successful Florida is it was a conception of the turnpike wherever you're not allowed to crook astir and the feline turned around. And what happened? You had 3 radical who were killed connected Florida highways. It’s that serious… this behaviour has to stop."

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"If these states won't bash the close thing, past it's gonna beryllium the work of the national authorities to bash it," Donalds said.

Donalds besides directed his connection to Democratic governors successful sanctuary states.

"Stop surviving successful this worldview that extremist near migration argumentation is the close happening to bash connected behalf of the American people. It simply is not. It is making our state little safe," helium continued. "This is not partisan and should not beryllium partisan. This is not ideological and should not beryllium ideological. This is astir nationalist safety."

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"Every politician has a work to bash what's close truthful that our roads are safe," helium added.

Backing Donalds’s warning, National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto told Fox News Digital the concern should ne'er person happened.

"It’s astonishing that we’re adjacent looking astatine this," Del Cueto said. "They’re illegals — not lone should they not person CDLs, they shouldn’t person immoderate driver’s license. They’re not legally here."

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ICE said it intends to grow akin enforcement operations successful different states arsenic portion of its ongoing absorption connected road information and coordination with authorities partners.

A erstwhile cognition successful September netted 120 arrests, including 91 commercialized drivers with transgression histories ranging from DUIs to wealth laundering and quality smuggling. Officials said the extremity is to guarantee that "illegal aliens who prosecute successful transgression enactment oregon run vehicles without due authorization" are removed from U.S. roadways.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send communicative tips to [email protected].