In what later became a public example of the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office’s new immigration enforcement powers, the agency arrested a pair of undocumented truck drivers Tuesday, one operating with a license that was suspended because of a DUI after the driver reportedly bypassed a Wyoming Port of Entry.
That driver originated from Venezuela and was going 17 mph over the speed limit while evading inspection, Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said in a Tuesday social media video discussing the arrest. That driver had no commercial driver’s license and was driving on a Colorado operating license, which was suspended due to having received a DUI, the sheriff said.
Kozak also reported the trucking company employing the driver was suspended by the U.S. Department of Transportation. He said the case would be forwarded to that agency for further review.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of immigration violations and was released after being cited, Kozak added. Officers arrested the driver for an immigration violation and have identified the driver for deportation.
“This traffic stop I just told you about was an unsafe, unlicensed, undocumented driver who has been detained by our deputies and is no longer a threat to our community,” Kozak said in the video, posted to the sheriff’s office Facebook page.
Kozak noted his deputies on Tuesday had also stopped a dump truck for being overweight. The driver of that vehicle was a noncitizen from Mexico and is also set for deportation.
ICE Enforcement
Laramie County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Aaron Veldheer told Cowboy State Daily that while 25 Laramie County deputies have been certified as task force officers through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), other officers can still make immigration arrests by consulting the agency for permission.
“We have that built in as a safeguard so we're not grabbing up the wrong people,” Veldheer said via phone.
Veldheer said he did not know whether the driver was proficient in English, which has become the topic of a bill moving through Wyoming’s legislature. That measure would allow any Wyoming law enforcement agent, not just those who are federally certified, cite truckers who are not proficient in the language.
Despite this, he highlighted the danger of non-proficient drivers, saying they can cause major accidents through negligence of posted road signs. A similar issue in the past caused devastation when a non-proficient driver passed through Denver, he said.
“It might be 10 years ago now, maybe even longer, but I-70 coming into Denver out of the mountains, and there was a traffic backup, and signs warned of that ahead of time, saying, ‘traffic back up ahead,’” he said. “A driver who did not speak English drove into that and killed five, eight people, because he came in at 60, 70 mph out of the mountains, lost his brakes because he couldn't read that there were runaway truck ramps.”
These Local Deputies
The head of the regional ICE office covering Wyoming and Colorado swore in 25 Laramie County Sheriff’s personnel, including Kozak, to an immigration task force Oct. 1.
The task force is a product of an agreement between Kozak’s office and ICE. It lets local deputies enforce immigration laws.
Kozak assured the public during the swearing-in that his agency would not be conducting immigration raids, but only focusing on illegal immigrants who have committed crimes or who have been caught doing criminal activities.
Detractors, however, worry that giving local agents immigration enforcement powers will mount a barrier between deputies, and noncitizen-involved communities who may need their help.
Antonio Serrano, Wyoming’s advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Cowboy State Daily at the time that it’s “unwise” to divert local law enforcement officers.
He said Laramie County deputies “belong in the neighborhoods of our communities providing crime prevention services to build trust and maintain order — not pulled out of neighborhoods to handle a federal responsibility.”
National Conversation
The Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee last week voted 11-1 to sponsor the state English-language proficiency bill in the coming legislative session, which begins on Feb. 9. That measure would allow any state law enforcement official to fine a non-English-speaking trucker $1,000 and revoke their license until they could show English proficiency.
Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, was the lone nay vote in that decision and expressed concern the bill focuses too heavily on truckers themselves, rather than their employers. Kevin Hawley, president of the Wyoming Trucking Association, echoed similar concerns during his testimony to the committee.
“I would argue that we need to hold more than the driver accountable for such infractions,” Hawley said, adding that it “isn’t racism” to pass such a proficiency requirement.
“The challenge isn’t always, but in many of the situations, some of these drivers are being taken advantage of.”
Federally certified Wyoming Highway Patrol inspectors have pulled 497 non-English proficient truckers from the roads between June 25 and Oct. 15, the agency testified last week.
The initiative also has the support of Wyoming’s congressional delegation. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R- Wyoming, in May proposed “Connor’s Law,” which would revoke commercial driver’s licenses from drivers who fail to adhere to language proficiency requirements.
"Requiring truck drivers to be proficient in reading and speaking the English language is just common sense,” Hageman said at the time. Driving some of the biggest rigs on our highway systems, often in inclement weather, creates risk enough, but this liability is exacerbated when truck drivers can neither read our highway signs nor clearly communicate with others on the road, thereby putting everyone in danger.”
President Donald Trump in an April executive order directed law enforcement to uphold “commonsense” rules behind English proficiency requirements for truckers. He cited “federal law” requirements, despite such a rule having not yet been passed through Congress.
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
