All truck weigh stations in Florida are being turned into ICE checkpoints after last week’s deadly big-rig crash involving an illegal migrant, officials said Monday.
State Attorney General James Uthmeier, referring to “the serious tragedy that happened down in southeast Florida,” announced the new partnership between federal agencies and the state agricultural inspection stations at a press conference in Live Oak.
“Someone that should never have been given a driver’s license, much less a CDL license to drive larger commercial vehicles, engaged in reckless behavior that took three lives,” Uthmeier said, surrounded by law-enforcement officials.
Harjinder Singh, 28 of India had been living under the radar in the US for six years when he allegedly pulled an illegal U-turn in an 18-wheeler on the Florida Turnpike on Aug. 12, killing three people. He fled to California but was nabbed by US marshals and flown back to Florida to stand trial.
Monday’s move by Sunshine State authorities will see immigration enforcement at all checkpoints operated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) along major interstate highways.
A new station will be added near the Florida/Alabama border along Highway 231, too, Fox13 reported.
In addition, more pullover lanes are planned in north Florida, along with new advanced X-ray technology to allow officials to see inside trucks as they pull up to stations.
Here is the latest on the illegal immigrant truck driver who killed three people
- Shocking footage shows illegal-migrant driver make outrageous rogue U-turn, killing 3
- Illegal immigrant trucker charged in deadly wreck flown back to Florida after he fled to sanctuary state
- Illegal migrant truck driver in deadly Fla. crash failed English, road sign tests — despite getting licenses from 2 sanctuary states
- Illegal migrant truck driver suspect in deadly Florida crash was given work permit under Biden after being denied by Trump: DHS
- Illegal migrant suspect in deadly Florida crash was nearly deported — but allowed to stay after claiming he was afraid
- Petition supporting illegal migrant trucker accused of killing 3 people gets 2.2 million signatures
Uthmeier also revealed at the briefing that another illegal migrant was caught driving a commercial vehicle in Bay County in northwest Florida on Sunday.
“The individual, Roberto Carlos Vergara, has been arrested and is now under an ICE hold,” Uthmeier said.
“There’s no telling how many illegal aliens are in this country driving large commercial vehicles and putting American families in a safety risk every single day,” he said.
“And that’s efforts like what Agricultural Law Enforcement Commissioner Simpson are doing are so important. We have got to protect our American citizens from the dangers of the open border crisis, and illegal aliens that may be engaging in behavior that injures people,” he said.
