Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asked the federal government Monday to ban California and Washington from issuing commercial licenses if these states have encouraged undocumented migrants to drive commercially.
Uthmeier's call comes weeks after an undocumented Indian national with a California-issued CDL made an illegal U-turn, killing three Floridians. Mass public outrage led the federal government to temporarily pause visa approvals for foreign truckers.
But now, Uthmeier wants the feds to take it a step further.
"Our office is calling on the federal government, the United States Department of Transportation, to revoke CDL programs in California and Washington if the federal government identifies systematic abuse of these programs in allowing illegal aliens—perhaps even encouraging illegal aliens—to obtain these licenses," Uthmeier said at a Live Oak press conference.
This includes striking "any funding tied" to these programs, and should extend to other states engaging in similar practices, Uthmeier added.
This request directly aligns with President Donald Trump's sweeping anti-illegal immigration efforts in terms of truckers, which includes an April executive order demanding English proficiency among truck drivers and—as of the past week—investigating CDLs issued to non-residents.
Uthmeier and federal authorities kicked up anti-illegal immigration efforts after 28-year-old Harjinder Singh, who entered the United States illegally in 2018, attempted an illegal U-turn on a St. Lucie highway with his 18-wheel tractor-trailer, blocking four lanes of traffic and making it nearly impossible for a minivan with three people to brake in time.
All three people in the minivan were killed.
Singh was arrested by the U.S. Marshals in California last week, though it remains unclear how he made it from St. Lucie to Stockton. Florida officials extradited him days later, vowing to "throw the book at him."
Despite being undocumented—and failing mandatory English tests—he had received CDLs in California and Washington. He required a translator to get through his Friday court hearing.
"If you can't read street signs, how are you going to drive large commercial vehicles?" Uthmeier wondered on Monday.
