Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that all truck agricultural inspection stations throughout the state will also serve as federal immigration checkpoints, targeting drivers who are undocumented or hold out-of-state licenses.
The move comes in the wake of a deadly August 12 crash on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce, which killed three South Florida residents when a tractor-trailer allegedly driven by 28-year-old Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn. Singh, who entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018, later obtained a commercial driver’s license in California and a work permit before being arrested and extradited to Florida.
“There’s no telling how many illegal aliens are in this country driving large commercial vehicles and putting American families in a safety risk every single day,” Uthmeier said during a press conference Monday morning in Live Oak, a city north of Gainesville.
Uthmeier said the program would focus on weigh stations operated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Currently, FDACS has 23 agricultural inspection stations that have been deputized to assist with immigration enforcement. While the stations’ primary role is to inspect vehicles for agricultural safety and food quality, in 2025, all Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) officers were certified under the federal 287(g) program. This allows them to assist with federal immigration enforcement if they encounter individuals violating federal law.
Officials said a new station, Station No. 20 — Highway 231, will be added soon. The station will be located near the Florida/Alabama border.
In addition, more pullover lanes are planned in north Florida, along with new advanced X-ray technology to allow officials to see inside trucks as they pull up to stations.
“We’re continuing to crack down and interdict others who may have gotten into Florida from other sanctuary states,” Uthmeier said. “If you can’t read street signs, how are you going to drive large commercial vehicles, 18-wheelers, tractor trailers in a safe manner?”
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson emphasized that the state will comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring commercial drivers to demonstrate proficiency in English.
Uthmeier also warned that driver’s licenses from states such as California, Washington, or New Jersey — like Singh’s — “are no good here.”
The program is part of a broader effort to enhance safety on Florida highways while preventing undocumented drivers from operating commercial vehicles without proper oversight.
It follows an announcement by the United States government that it has stopped issuing visas for commercial truck drivers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move Thursday, saying the freeze takes effect immediately.
“Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio wrote on X. “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”
Foreign-born truck drivers have become an increasing presence in the U.S. industry, doubling in number between 2000 and 2021 to more than 720,000, according to federal data. Today, they make up 18 percent of the workforce, with most coming from Latin America, as well as growing numbers from India, Ukraine, and other countries.
Large Caribbean diaspora communities in places like New York, Florida, New Jersey, Georgia, and Texas also have members working in trucking, especially Jamaicans, Haitians, Trinidadians, and Guyanese. These communities often enter trucking because it offers stable employment, relatively quick certification through CDL programs, and opportunities for entrepreneurship (owning/operating rigs).
