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(Colorado State Patrol via Facebook)

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Three states recently ramped up enforcement of federal English-language proficiency rules and roadside checks of immigration status in response to renewed U.S. Department of Transportation attention to these issues.

In a joint dragnet operation, the Colorado State Patrol and the Wyoming Highway Patrol on Sept. 30 placed 16 drivers and 24 vehicles out of service for a variety of violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules. In addition, four arrests were made; Wyoming troopers arrested two commercial vehicle drivers for repeated offenses of driving without a CDL, and one for repeated violations of the ELP rule. Colorado troopers arrested one commercial driver who was subject to a statewide warrant. In addition, one driver received a marijuana citation.

Truckers were stopped at multiple checkpoints along U.S. Route 287 in Wyoming south of Laramie, with signs along the road informing drivers of the stops. Truckers who bypassed the signs were pulled over by troopers and directed to return to the inspection areas.

“The Colorado State Patrol takes commercial vehicle safety very seriously,” CSP said in a news release. “When a driver is found to be operating while not complying with critical FMCSA regulations, along with repeat violations like ELP, the driver may be arrested.”

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“The Colorado State Patrol takes commercial vehicle safety very seriously,” CSP said in a news release. (Colorado State Patrol via Facebook)

The Wyoming police noted that the driver arrested for ELP violations — who initially drove past an inspection checkpoint before being stopped — had on Sept. 13 received a citation in Colorado for violating the rule.

Colorado is among six states Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has criticized for failing to follow FMCSA regulations regarding issuance of CDLs to non-domiciled drivers. On Sept. 26, Duffy declared a national emergency and ordered all states to stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs after preliminary results of an FMCSA audit identified what were described by the agency as systemic failures in the process. Duffy said states that do not comply risk having DOT funding withheld.

Immigration Status

Removal of drivers operating on U.S. roads with fraudulent CDLs is another DOT area of focus, and one that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol focused on during a three-day enforcement campaign along Interstate 40 that also targeted ELP compliance.

The operation was conducted in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and paid specific attention to out-of-state drivers.

The Sept. 25-28 operation resulted in 500 inspections and the arrest of 120 mostly commercial vehicle drivers, taken into custody chiefly for immigration violations. Inspections were conducted at the at the Texas state line. Oklahoma has four other ports of entry: two more at the Texas border, one at the Kansas boundary and another at the Arkansas state line.

The Beckham County site, in far western Oklahoma, saw 1.4 million trucks Classes 5 and above cross the state border from July 1, 2024, through last June 30. Across all five entry points, more than 5.6 million trucks crossed a border entry point into Oklahoma.

said the sting resulted in the apprehension of more than 125 undocumented immigrants from multiple countries including China, Georgia, India, Mauritania, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

“During the operation, OHP encountered numerous commercial truck drivers operating with licenses issued by sanctuary states, including one [New York] license listing ‘No Name Given,’ ” Stitt said. “If New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them. The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”

A New York State Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson told Transport Topics the “No Name Given” CDL was issued according to “all proper procedures, including verification of the individual’s identity through federally issued documentation. The individual has lawful status in the United States through a federal employment authorization and was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines. This document was not issued under the Green Light Law.”

The spokesperson said drivers from other countries sometimes list only one name. “Procedures for that are clearly spelled out in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy manual, and it is important to note that federal documents also include a ‘no name given’ notation,” the DMV stated.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission also participated in the state’s three-day enforcement effort.

“There are legitimate concerns with illegal immigrants obtaining CDLs in other jurisdictions,” said Corporation Commissioner Brian Bingman. “The inability to read road signs written in English will lead to accidents. This negligence creates risk for Oklahoma’s drivers.”

“Oklahomans deserve safe highways,” added Corporation Commission Chair Kim David. “By working together as law enforcement partners, we’re reducing risks for every driver.”