Sen. Jim Banks has launched a new tip line aimed at protecting Americans from truck drivers who are in the country illegally, not authorized to operate commercial vehicles, or lack sufficient English proficiency to safely navigate U.S. roads.
Banks said the "TruckSafe Tipline" comes in response to multiple fatal crashes involving illegal immigrants who obtained commercial drivers' licenses, or CDLs, and later killed or injured Americans while operating their vehicles.
"Indiana is the Crossroads of America, and Hoosiers are getting killed because drivers who shouldn't be here in the first place are behind the wheel," Banks said in a statement.
"If you're driving a truck on our roads, you need to be legal, you need to be able to read traffic signs, and you need to follow the law," he added. "The TruckSafe Tipline gives people on the ground a way to speak up when they see carriers cutting corners and putting lives at risk."
Banks pointed to several recent high-profile cases.
Over the summer, Harjinder Singh, an illegal migrant from India, was charged in a Florida crash that killed three Americans after receiving a CDL from California, which is led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., according to Banks.
Days ago, Bekzhan Beishekeev, an illegal migrant from Kyrgyzstan who was admitted to the United States during the Biden administration, was charged in a crash in Indiana that killed four people after obtaining a CDL from Pennsylvania, led by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said several trucking companies, including the one that hired Beishekeev, are under investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
"These interconnected carriers have all the markings of FRAUD and are accused of being CHAMELEON CARRIERS. This is when companies swap names and DOT numbers to avoid enforcement," Duffy said in a post on X.
Banks said the problem extends beyond isolated incidents.
He cited figures indicating that 50% of CDLs issued in New York were granted improperly and pointed to federal estimates that 200,000 drivers in the country illegally are currently on U.S. roads.
Because commercial trucks travel across state lines, he said, lax enforcement in one state can have nationwide consequences.
English proficiency has been required for commercial truck licensing since 1937, but Banks said some states have failed to enforce the requirement.
Speaking on the Senate floor Monday, Banks said at least seven Hoosiers have died in the past six months in crashes involving illegal immigrants driving recklessly and at least eight others have been seriously injured.
In November, an illegal immigrant using a fake green card crashed his SUV into a van, killing a 76-year-old driver from Decatur before fleeing the scene, Banks said. Three other drivers were seriously injured in that crash.
In another incident shortly before, an illegal immigrant driving drunk and without a license crashed into two young parents on their way to pick up their children, leaving both seriously injured, according to Banks.
He also cited a crash involving an illegal immigrant from the country of Georgia who was driving a truck towing a trailer when he swerved and forced a military Humvee off the road. The crash killed Hoosier National Guardsman Terry Frye, 23, and seriously injured three others.
"It is stories like this that show why mass deportations matter and why they are needed now more than ever," Banks said.
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