Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks during an August 25 press conference.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is asking the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to revoke commercial driver’s license program authority and strip related federal funding from California and Washington following a deadly crash earlier this month that claimed three lives.
“States like California and Washington ignored the rules, gave an illegal alien a license to drive a 40-ton truck, and three people are dead as a result,” Uthmeier said during an August 25 press event at an agricultural interdiction station along Interstate 10 in Live Oak. “A preventable tragedy due to sanctuary state policies.
“In response, we’re supporting our Agricultural Law Enforcement and state police to ramp up inspections at state entry-points for illegal aliens who may be operating large trucks using out-of-state driver’s licenses. If you’re here illegally or can’t speak English, you have no business operating large commercial vehicles on Florida’s roads. We commend Commissioner Simpson and his department’s 287(g) certified law enforcement officers for turning Florida’s interdiction stations into strongholds of immigration enforcement. Together, we will ensure dangerous drivers are taken off the road and criminals serve their time before deportation.”
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Commissioner Wilton Simpson made the announcement alongside Uthmeier. All FDACS sworn law enforcement officers were certified in July, and they are stationing at interdiction checkpoints to work together with federal and state partners on immigration enforcement and checking for English proficiency for commercial drivers while continuing agricultural inspections. These interdiction stations, which are distinct from FDOT weigh stations, will serve as critical enforcement points to stop human smuggling, fraudulent documents, and unsafe commercial vehicles.
“The crash on the Florida Turnpike tragically took the lives of three Floridians and was a completely preventable consequence of illegal immigration and sanctuary-state policies,” Simpson said. “It is also a reminder of why the work of our law enforcement community to combat illegal immigration is so critical.
“With 23 inspection stations on Florida roadways and 100 percent of our officers being certified in the 287(g) Program, Agricultural Law Enforcement officers are uniquely skilled and positioned to help prevent another tragedy and be a force multiplier in the fight against illegal immigration and criminal activity.”
Uthmeier’s letter to the federal government cites findings released by the DOT. During questioning, the driver involved in the deadly semi crash failed an English proficiency test — answering only two of 12 verbal questions correctly and identifying just one of four traffic signs. Despite this, Washington issued the driver a full-term CDL in 2023 and California issued another in 2024.
Uthmeier said his office is pursuing every legal option to ensure the driver responsible for the crash serves a lengthy sentence in prison before any deportation proceedings. At the same time, Florida is strengthening its frontline defenses with FDACS’s newly certified officers, reinforcing the state’s interdiction stations as a tool in immigration enforcement.
