Alabama Works With ICE on Immigration Enforcement in Trucking
Roadside Initiative Focuses on Rural Interstate Freight Corridors With High Crash Rates
Key Takeaways:
- Alabama launched an October partnership with ICE that referred 242 truck drivers for status checks and detained 82 during rural interstate enforcement, officials said.
- State officials say the effort targets unlicensed or unauthorized operators to reduce crash risks, following two multiday October-November operations.
- ICE agents, when available, are now embedded in routine vehicle inspections, with Alabama joining other states as immigration enforcement continues in the U.S.
[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Alabama has detained more than 240 individuals through immigration enforcement actions targeting truck drivers, with federal agents concentrating on rural interstates with high crash rates.
“Alabama is leading the way when it comes to going after illegal bad actors in trucking,” Gov. Kay Ivey . “If you are here illegally and breaking our laws, or putting folks at risk on our highways, you will be held accountable in our state.”
Ivey discussed a partnership that has developed between the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She noted: “I’m proud of ALEA for taking decisive action and grateful for our strong partnership with ICE. Alabama will not look the other way while illegal immigration and illegal operators threaten the safety of our communities or undermine the integrity of our trucking industry.” The governor’s office stated that ICE agents, when available, are now integrated within ALEA’s routine commercial vehicle enforcement assignments.
Many states across the country are forming task force partnerships with ICE to root out truckers operating without proper authority, such as Oklahoma, New York, Alabama, Mississippi, Wyoming and Indiana.
According to a Dec. 4 ALEA statement, Alabama’s partnership with ICE — launched in October — “has yielded substantial operational successes and strengthened public safety along Alabama’s major interstate corridors.”
RELATED: Duffy Takes Tough Stance With N.Y. on Noncompliant CDLs
Two recent multiday joint operations, held in October and November, resulted in more than 80 people being detained. From October through early December, the partnership has resulted in 242 individuals encountered during commercial motor vehicle inspections being referred to ICE for immigration status checks. Of those, ICE detained 82 individuals based on their immigration status. Among those detained, 12 did not have a driver license of any kind, and the remaining held out-of-state licenses, the governor’s office stated.
ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor praised the collaboration between Alabama, ICE and all federal partners to improve safety. “The support and leadership of Gov. Ivey make these operations possible, and we remain dedicated to carrying out the mission of keeping Alabama’s roads and its citizens safe,” Taylor said.
Also supporting the crackdown was President and CEO Mark Colson.
DZDz
“Alabama’s trucking industry is built on the hard work of family-owned small businesses and professional drivers who follow the rules and operate safely, but a growing number of illegal operators and bad actors who exploit regulatory loopholes are compromising safety and undercutting hardworking Alabamians who move our economy,” Colson said. “Fortunately, due to the leadership and enforcement actions by Gov. Kay Ivey and ALEA, Alabama is doing its part to keep our highways safe and keep the bad actors out of the trucking industry.”
Colson noted that Alabama’s efforts back his work in the trucking industry. He was among a nine-member group of the Trucking Association Executive Council task force to release an action plan identifying seven areas bad actors exploit in the trucking industry with solutions to eliminate fraud and illegal operators.
The plan is called “The Fight for Fairness and Safety: Paving the Way for a Trucking Resurgence.” It emphasizes immediate solutions without new legislation or rules. Colson noted that the joint efforts of ALEA and ICE “align with the trucking industry’s ‘Trucking Resurgence’ action plan, which is a nationwide road map to systematically root out those in trucking who operate illegally and harm the reputation of a strong and proud industry.”
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing belowor go here for more info:
