Thanksgiving weekend ranks as the nation’s busiest travel period with an estimated 81 million on the move and nearly 90% doing it by vehicle.
This yearly ritual is nothing new.
America’s highways, already a patchwork of potholes and billboards, face a deeper crisis in illegal drivers. This made headlines before quickly vanishing from the mainstream news’ cycle after a series of deadly crashes involving tractor-trailers.
From coast to coast, these tragedies have claimed lives and revealed that illegal immigrants who obtained commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) illegally were the cause of these accidents.
Borko Stankovic in the country illegally since 2011, caused a fatal crash in Indiana last month when he swerved into oncoming traffic after failing to slow for congestion. He held a suspended CDL issued in Illinois under another person’s name and now faces reckless homicide and criminal recklessness charges.
Harjinder Singh, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2018, killed three in August while making an illegal U-turn in a tractor trailer on a Florida turnpike. Despite failing his written exam 10 times, Singh still obtained a CDL from Washington state in 2023. After the crash, Singh failed an English proficiency test, answering only 2 of 12 verbal questions correctly and was only able to identify one of four traffic signs.
In 2022, Jashanpreet Singh is another illegal who entered the U.S. and caused a deadly crash on a California freeway this summer while driving a trailer under the influence of drugs. Dashcam video shows Singh plowing into multiple vehicles before veering off the road as his cab caught fire. The collision killed three and seriously injured four.
New York has gone as far as issuing CDLs to illegals under “No Name Given.” One such case involved illegal immigrant named Anmol Anmol, who was arrested in September while driving an 18 wheeler in Oklahoma. The arrest was part of a three-day enforcement operation on threats to public safety along I-40 in Oklahoma.
There have been documented cases of human traffickers, smugglers and drug cartels using these truckers. According to the Department of Transportation, California is the worst offender where more than 25% of CDLs were illegally issued.
Sanctuary states are more interested in defying federal laws by offering licenses and jobs to illegals than they are about assuring highway safety or jobs to Americans. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida does not recognize drivers’ licenses from other states since many states issue them to illegals who have not passed the necessary safety tests.
Many illegals obtain several CDLs so they can keep driving if one is revoked. Deceitful trucking companies have recruited illegal drivers to satisfy contracts with shippers. They exploit both the drivers and the system while endangering the lives of everyone on the road.
The mainstream media continues to ignore these stories that compromise public safety. Granting licenses without proper documentation creates serious security risks and erodes the integrity of immigration enforcement and state licensing standards, while rewarding the unlawful.
Today’s journalists prefer the faux tragedies of illegal aliens being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Licensing means safer roads, healthier supply chains and continued economic growth.
If trucking companies have a shortage of qualified drivers, they should be training Americans and legal immigrants and using work-visa programs to fill the void.
Most truck driving schools are a 320-hour affair that includes 160 hours on the road, a written and driving exam, a detailed vehicle inspection, a signs test, a vision test, and a physical. Moreover, federal law requires that the road testing is in English which is often not enforced. In some states, the written portion of the testing is offered in many languages. The Trump administration has already taken steps to require English proficiency for all states issuing CDLs.
Training and licensing must be reserved for citizens and legal immigrants who meet the requirements, not for those who bypass them.
To remain a nation of laws, accountability is a must from states that undermine federal standards. A society that abandons its own standards in favor of political agendas not only is in decay but is driving itself toward a head-on collapse.
Pursuing the common good through common sense must be the rule, not the exception.
