CHEYENNE — It isn’t just illegal truck drivers who risk being caught in the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office’s Truck Around and Find Out highway enforcement operations.
Illegal drivers speeding in other vehicles while displaying lights that look enough like emergency responders that it prompts deputies to pull over for them will also get turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That’s what happened to a man who got nabbed in the LCSO’s latest Truck Around roundup Tuesday and Thursday, said Sheriff Brian Kozak.
“Another funny story was one of our deputies was driving down one of the county roads and looks in the rearview mirror and sees blue lights coming up at a high rate of speed,” he said in an update on this week’s operation.
“So, he pulls over thinking maybe it’s an off-duty firefighter or something,” Kozak added. “As the vehicle passes, it’s a Ford Ranger. So, the deputy thinks, ‘Ah, that’s not an emergency vehicle,’ so he pulls it over.”
Turns out, the driver was an illegal immigrant and driving without a valid license, the sheriff said.
“So, the moral of the story is, ‘Hey, don’t bring attention to yourself in a situation like that, right?’” Kozak said. “Better yet, don’t commit a crime, especially here in Laramie County, where breaking the law is still illegal.”
He added that it was like the man was waving a big sign that said, “Arrest me!”
By The Numbers
Overall, this week’s Truck Around and Find Out resulted in about 120 traffic stops, with 40 tickets issued to drivers and 10 arrested for being in the country illegally, said Kozak and Chief Deputy Chance Walkama.
That’s a dramatic drop from the previous three crackdowns, where 118 illegal drivers were handed over to ICE agents. That includes a record 46 during the last operation in April.
The total now since the first crackdown in November 2025, then called Operation Safe Haul, is 128 illegal drivers arrested and turned over to ICE.
That only 10 were caught in this latest effort shows “that the word is getting out” that Laramie County should be avoided if you’re an illegal or unlicensed trucker, Kozak said.
“We have had less illegal immigration arrests, which is a good sign,” he said. “People who are illegal aliens are afraid to come to Laramie County — and that’s what we want.”
While people focus on how many illegal drivers are arrested during the county’s Truck Around campaigns, that’s not the goal, said Walkama.
“Our focus is always on traffic safety and safety in and around big trucks,” he said. “And that includes those vehicles driving around trucks. Sometimes there’s idiots out there.
“These are primarily traffic-focused and law-focused.”
Probably the most dangerous driver taken off the road this week wasn’t immigration-related, Kozak said.
“One of the arrests that we made … was for an aggravated, or felony, DUI,” he said. “That’s because that person had previous convictions for driving under the influence of marijuana, and that’s what he was doing again.”
Along with marijuana, deputies found a stash of fake urine in that vehicle, Kozak said.
“Because this person’s on probation, he has to provide urine tests,” he said, adding that it compounds the problem for the driver because it’s illegal to have fake urine if you’re on probation.
Keep On Truckin’
Kozak’s Truck Around and Find Out operations have also been the target of criticism from local and national groups.
In March, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a legal challenge against the sheriff claiming he bypassed the public process to enter into agreements with ICE.
The ACLU filed the challenge on behalf of Juntos, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne, and Drew’s Barbershop.
Kozak’s office has three agreements with ICE, which the agencies call 287(g) agreements.
One lets jail officials investigate inmates for potential immigration violations. Another lets the sheriff’s deputies act as immigration task force agents and investigate federal immigration violations while they’re out enforcing laws. And another lets the Laramie County Detention Center house detainees for ICE.
Kozak signed all three agreements last May, the complaint says. His agency has deputized around 30 deputies for immigration work.
The Cheyenne Tribune Eagle reports that a Laramie County judge heard arguments on the challenge Monday, and hasn’t yet issued a ruling.
Despite the lawsuit, Kozak said he’s continuing with Truck Around and Find Out, adding that he knew the operations would generate some opposition and political fallout.
“We’re going to keep doing them,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. “We knew when we started there would be these political groups that would be opposed to what we’re doing.
“But we’re going to continue to do these Truck Around and Find Out operations.”
Kozak said his interest is in public safety.
“You have these big trucks driving by people without licenses, and people are losing their lives,” he said.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
