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Congressman Byron Donalds from Florida is urging the federal government to take decisive action against sanctuary-state policies that permit undocumented immigrants to acquire commercial driver’s licenses. This call to action follows a collaborative operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol that resulted in the arrest of 70 undocumented individuals. Among those apprehended, 34 were accused of driving large trucks while residing in the U.S. illegally.
“There are states that openly defy federal laws by offering sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, and this poses a significant issue for states that do not support such policies,” stated Donalds, a Republican, in an interview with Fox News Digital. “It is unfair that citizens in states opposing these sanctuary policies end up bearing the consequences.”
Donalds emphasized the national safety concerns highlighted by the Oklahoma incident, noting that foreign nationals who “cannot read our road signs” are exploiting loopholes to obtain commercial licenses in states such as California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey.
“Law-abiding American citizens are at risk of being involved in serious accidents with commercial drivers who are not familiar with our road signs or laws,” he explained. “It’s alarming that these commercial license holders are operating vehicles weighing up to 80,000 pounds. That’s a serious safety concern.”
An example of this issue was a multi-vehicle crash on the I-10 Freeway in San Bernardino County, California, which involved a semi-truck driven by an undocumented immigrant. (KTLA)
Donalds said legislation he has introduced, the WEIGH Act, would give the federal government new tools to stop states from issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants and to punish those that do.
“This is one of the reasons why I sponsored the WEIGH Act here in D.C.,” he explained. “It would actually give broader authority for the Department of Transportation to not just hold other states accountable that are letting these CDL licenses be issued, but would also give the Department of Treasury the ability to withhold federal funds in the process.”
“If you actually penalize these states for allowing this behavior, they’ll then have to turn around and fix it on their end,” Donalds said. “And that’s how you save lives of the American people.”
The bill would also allow the Department of Transportation to conduct immigration and English-proficiency checks at weigh stations nationwide.
“If there’s a failure in one of those two, then they detain that driver,” he said. “It gives them the authority to withhold federal transportation dollars from those states… and those are the two mechanisms we believe that will stop a lot of these sanctuary policies in California, in New York, and other blue states in America.”
Bodycam still shows Harjinder Singh holding paperwork as a New Mexico State Police officer issues him a speeding ticket during a July 3 traffic stop. He is accused of causing a crash in Florida that killed three people in August. (New Mexico State Police bodycam)
Donald’s comments come after ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol announced “Operation Guardian,” a two-day enforcement sweep in late October that resulted in 70 arrests, including 34 individuals operating commercial trucks while in the U.S. illegally.
ICE said 26 of those drivers held CDLs issued in sanctuary states, while eight others had no commercial license at all. The operation was conducted under Oklahoma’s 287(g) partnership with ICE to address public-safety concerns tied to unlicensed and unauthorized drivers.
ICE’s Marcos Charles, executive associate director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, said many of those detained “were operating 80,000-pound tractor-trailers and, in some cases, could not read basic English,” calling it a “serious highway safety risk.”
ICE said Akhror Bozorov, a criminal illegal alien from Uzbekistan, was issued a CDL from Pennsylvania. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt praised the effort, saying the state would continue enforcing “common-sense standards” requiring legal status and English proficiency for commercial drivers.
Donalds said the danger extends far beyond one state.
“It’s like somebody driving an 80,000 pound truck that can’t see. It’s that dangerous,” he said. “The issue that happened in Florida is it was a section of the turnpike where you’re not allowed to turn around and the guy turned around. And what happened? You had three people who were killed on Florida highways. It’s that serious… this behavior has to stop.”
“If these states won’t do the right thing, then it’s gonna be the responsibility of the federal government to do it,” Donalds said.
Donalds also directed his message to Democratic governors in sanctuary states.
“Stop living in this worldview that radical left immigration policy is the right thing to do on behalf of the American people. It simply is not. It is making our country less safe,” he continued. “This is not partisan and should not be partisan. This is not ideological and should not be ideological. This is about public safety.”
“Every governor has a responsibility to do what’s right so that our roads are safe,” he added.
Backing Donalds’s warning, National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto told Fox News Digital the situation should never have happened.
“It’s amazing that we’re even looking at this,” Del Cueto said. “They’re illegals — not only should they not have CDLs, they shouldn’t have any driver’s license. They’re not legally here.”
ICE said it intends to expand similar enforcement operations in other states as part of its ongoing focus on highway safety and coordination with state partners.
A previous operation in September netted 120 arrests, including 91 commercial drivers with criminal histories ranging from DUIs to money laundering and human smuggling. Officials said the goal is to ensure that “illegal aliens who engage in criminal activity or operate vehicles without proper authorization” are removed from U.S. roadways.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.