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Almost 300 illegal migrants with commercial driver’s licenses were stopped and prosecuted in Indiana over the last three months, according to a top aide to the state’s Gov. Mike Braun.
Tony Ferraro, an aide to the governor who also serves on the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, told the board on Thursday that the state has discovered at least 283 undocumented drivers operating trucks at its weigh stations over a 90-day stretch.
“That’s over three a day that we pulled out of trucks,” he said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“The bottom line is it was illegal. It was against the law. We prosecuted and took over the enforcement action,” he added.
Ferraro did not specify what law the drivers broke, but said that many of the drivers held CDLs issued by states like California and New York, which don’t require commercial license applicants to be citizens and can legally license drivers regardless of citizenship status.
In February, New York’s leaders announced it will no longer give commercial driver’s licenses to non-citizens following an order from the Trump administration tightening restrictions.
But the legality surrounding Indiana’s enforcement is murky.
Federal regulations do require CDL holders to be authorized to work in the US, however, a valid CDL issued by a state that didn’t require citizenship at the time may still permit a driver to legally operate a commercial vehicle, potentially opening up the state to challenges, according to legal experts.
Braun said he remains adamantly committed to traffic safety, which he said includes cracking down on illegal immigrant drivers operating commercial vehicles on Indiana roads.
The governor has also ramped up speed enforcement on state expressways and US Interstate 30, Ferraro said, calling the increased police presence more visible than any other time he’s seen in his 14 years living in the region.
Ferraro said the uptick in patrols on the major roadways serves a dual purpose — ensuring that drivers are not speeding while also giving troopers opportunities to stop and inspect drivers for criminal activity and immigration violations, according to the outlet.
Indiana does not issue any type of driver’s license to illegal immigrants.
It is unclear whether the undocumented drivers are being prosecuted on any state or federal charges or whether they have been handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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