By Ivy Secrest
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Early Monday morning, an overloaded semi-trailer rolled back onto a Laramie County Sheriff’s Office patrol car during a traffic stop.
The vehicle had been stopped for multiple observed violations, including inoperable brakes, a broken frame, three flat tires and appearing to be overweight. An inspection of the vehicle by Highway Patrol revealed a total of 23 out-of-service violations, according to Sheriff Brian Kozak.
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“Out-of-service violations mean they can’t drive the truck until it’s fixed,” Kozak told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Wednesday.
In addition to the truck having multiple violations, the driver did not have a commercial driver’s license, more commonly referred to as a CDL, and was not working legally in the United States, according to Kozak. The driver, who was not named by the sheriff’s office, was taken from the scene by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The truck was pulled over at 5:49 a.m. on County Road 213 in Burns. When the deputy got out of the vehicle and began approaching the driver, the truck began to roll backward onto the front of the patrol vehicle, resulting in a sizable dent in the hood.
“The deputy was trying to explain to the driver what happened,” Kozak said. “And, he didn’t understand because he couldn’t speak English.”
Eventually, the deputy motioned for the driver to come out and see the damage, Kozak said, but per new guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), signed in May of this year, drivers who fail to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) longstanding English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements are expected to be placed out of service.
The vehicle was transporting sand and weighed in at just under 100,000 pounds, which is 20,000 pounds over the weight limit for the road.
“The reason we started doing this was because we received complaints from local residents about trucks using county roads and avoiding state highways,” Kozak said.
It is unclear exactly how much instances of trucking violations, including CDL-related offenses, have increased in the last year as compared to previous years.
Repeat offenders
In response to those complaints, the sheriff’s office launched a traffic unit earlier this year, with the express intent of better enforcing these rules on less-trafficked roads.
Once that unit was operational, deputies noticed a trend, with repeat offenders continually violating local and federal laws, whether that be immigration status, truck safety or licensing. Kozak said the trend contributed to his pursuit of 287(g) contracts and certification, a controversial intragovernmental agreement that empowers select deputies to carry out certain immigration enforcement functions.
“That was one of the reasons we also launched into the 287(g) certification,” Kozak said. “So we could take action on that, because otherwise you write them a ticket and they’re practicing the same thing. We see just a repeated lack of caring about local laws.”
The driver was not booked into the Laramie County jail, and there are no formal charges locally against him, Kozak said. The truck was towed from the location, and the driver and passenger, who are said to be from Nicaragua and Mexico, were turned over to ICE’s custody.
The issue didn’t stop with the driver’s detainment, however. When stopping by the tow lot later on, Kozak had the unique experience of meeting the owner, who happened to be picking up the truck at the same time.
The truck is owned by Vega Transportation LLC, a company registered in Akron, Colorado, that is currently placed in active status, but is not authorized to have any operating authority or engage in interstate, for-hire operations, according to the USDOT’s online database.
The WTE reached out to the company for comment using the number listed with the USDOT, but was told that the number was incorrect.
When meeting with the owner, Kozak said he confirmed that he also did not have a CDL and was not authorized to drive the vehicle, though he planned to drive it off the lot.
“We got the report, it was in the dash of the cab,” Kozak said. “So I showed it to him, and said, ‘There are 23 things you’ve got to fix before you take this thing.’”
Kozak said the incident illustrated an ongoing issue with companies that are “fraudulent in nature” and don’t care about safety.
Local entities have very few options in these instances, as far as taking action against these companies, Kozak said. All they can do is report the company to USDOT and hope that results in some sort of action.
“The drivers, who should not be in this country, are being deported, and so we’re not having future problems with those drivers,” Kozak said. “Now, unfortunately, sometimes with the company we still do (have problems), and we’re hoping eventually USDOT can catch up on all those violations.”
Operation Safe Haul
The LCSO has also made targeted efforts to arrest people on these types of violations. “Operation Safe Haul” was a well-publicized, three-day operation in November, aimed at exactly this issue.
LCSO partnered with ICE and the Wyoming Highway Patrol to conduct a total of 133 commercial inspections, resulting in 44 vehicles and 38 drivers being placed out of service.
Out-of-service violations included 45 for inoperable brakes, 16 CDL/licensing issues, 10 English language proficiency violations and two drug violations. Additionally, 40 individuals were turned over to ICE custody for allegedly being in the United States illegally.
Kozak has maintained that his participation in 287(g) and these operations is for the sake of safety. He has been heavily criticized by local immigrant advocates for these agreements. That includes repeated commentary from representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming, warning against the multitude of risks associated with 287(g) and challenging the assertion by some that only serious criminals are being deported by the current administration.
According to reporting done by multiple news outlets, including WyoFile, The Colorado Sun, CBS, NBC and The New York Times, a large portion of people arrested by ICE in the past year, including those in Colorado and Wyoming, have not had criminal records.
The exact percentage varies, depending on the news outlet and the timeline from which that data was pulled, but it ranges from just under half to over a third of arrests.
Undercutting the industry
Regardless of immigration status, hiring unqualified drivers and not meeting requirements means that companies can charge less for their services, Kozak said. Ultimately, that undercutting of the market does damage to companies that consistently meet federal and local requirements.
“Folks, this is causing a bad reputation to those truckers that are doing it right, those hard-working truck drivers properly licensed, following all the laws that they should be,” Kozak said in a video describing the incident posted to social media.
Several self-identified truckers in the comments thanked Kozak for the work he and deputies were doing, citing safety as their main concern. Kozak told the WTE on Wednesday that he has heard a lot of anecdotal positive feedback from local trucking companies.
“We’re going to focus on unlicensed, undocumented, unsafe truckers and truck drivers and trucking companies until hopefully, someday, this situation turns around from where it is right now,” Kozak said in the video. “Because it’s a sad situation, and I just feel sorry for those truck drivers who are trying to do it right and compete against companies like this.”
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