Florida is ramping up its efforts to address immigration enforcement on the state’s highways after a fatal crash on August 12, 2025, claimed the lives of three people on the Florida Turnpike. The crash, which authorities say was caused by Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old Indian national who made an illegal U-turn, has become a flashpoint in the state’s broader push to tighten checks on commercial truck drivers and scrutinize their immigration status. The tragedy, which officials say was preventable, has sparked a series of policy changes and political maneuvers that are drawing national attention and igniting debate over immigration and road safety.
At the heart of the new approach is a directive for Florida law enforcement to begin asking commercial truck drivers about their immigration status during inspections at highway weigh stations. Announced on August 25, 2025, by State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and Attorney General James Uthmeier, this policy marks a significant shift in how the state polices its roads. According to Bloomberg, Simpson stated, “If you come through these inspection stations and you are an illegal or breaking the law you will be handed over to our local or federal law enforcement partners.”
This move is part of a broader campaign under Governor Ron DeSantis to position Florida as a leader in supporting former President Donald Trump’s pledge for the country’s largest-ever deportation effort. The state now requires most state and county police to participate in federal immigration enforcement. Nearly 300 Agriculture Department law enforcement officers, known as Ag Law, have been trained to enforce federal immigration laws under the 287(g) partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to Bloomberg.
The August 12 crash has become emblematic of the issues Florida officials say they are trying to address. Singh, who crossed the U.S. border illegally in 2018, had been issued a federal work permit and commercial driver licenses in both California and Washington state. However, Florida officials noted that he failed an English proficiency test required for commercial truck drivers in the state. Following the crash, Singh was arrested in California and extradited to Florida, where he faces criminal charges and likely deportation. His brother, a passenger in the truck at the time of the crash, was also arrested on civil immigration charges, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed.
The fallout from the crash has reverberated far beyond Florida’s borders. Days after the incident, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suspended the issuance of visas to foreign truck drivers. According to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, about 1,500 H-2B visas have been issued for drivers in the transportation industry during the current budget year, which began on October 1, 2024.
Florida’s crackdown has not gone unnoticed by federal and state officials elsewhere. On August 26, 2025, Rep. Byron Donalds appeared on Newsmax to praise Florida’s decision to turn truck weigh stations into immigration checkpoints. Donalds emphasized the importance of verifying drivers’ citizenship, English proficiency, and ability to read road signs, arguing, “This is about safety for all of the citizens of Florida ... plus all of the tourists that are in our state.” He criticized California for what he described as illegally issuing commercial driver licenses and asserted, “Florida has the responsibility to do everything it can to protect the citizens and people who visit the state of Florida.”
Donalds also acknowledged the possibility of legal challenges to Florida’s new policy, but expressed confidence in the state’s stance: “If there is a legal challenge, we will see what happens, we will face that head on, but that actually gives us an ability to really speak to the core issue, and that is sanctuary jurisdictions in the United States that are flouting federal immigration law and federal law overall.” He added, “You are always concerned about some federal judge, but we have to do what’s right ... Florida is taking a stand against this and they’re doing the right thing.”
Attorney General Uthmeier, meanwhile, is taking the fight to the federal level. On August 26, he announced plans to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration urging them to revoke commercial driver’s license program authority and federal funding from California and Washington. “States like California and Washington ignored the rules, gave an illegal alien a license to drive a 40-ton truck, and three people are dead as a result. A preventable tragedy due to sanctuary state policies,” Uthmeier said at a press conference, as reported by Truckers News.
Florida’s strategy involves more than just highway weigh stations. All sworn law enforcement officers of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) were certified in July 2025 and are now stationed at agricultural interdiction checkpoints along state entry points, working with federal and state partners on immigration enforcement. These interdiction stations, distinct from the Department of Transportation’s weigh stations, are intended to serve as critical points for stopping human smuggling, fraudulent documents, and unsafe commercial vehicles, according to Commissioner Simpson.
“We commend Commissioner (Wilton) Simpson and his department’s certified law enforcement officers for turning Florida’s interdiction stations into strongholds of immigration enforcement. Together, we will ensure dangerous drivers are taken off the road and criminals serve their time before deportation,” Uthmeier said, as reported by Truckers News.
The state’s aggressive posture has led to further action. On August 24, 2025, Florida law enforcement arrested another undocumented immigrant from Ecuador who was driving a commercial vehicle with a New Jersey driver’s license. This incident, officials say, underscores the scope of the problem and the need for stringent enforcement.
Governor DeSantis has also opened an immigration detention center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” to house detainees awaiting processing and deportation. However, on August 21, 2025, a federal judge ordered the facility to cease operations after finding that state and federal officials had bypassed necessary environmental regulations when constructing the center. Uthmeier has vowed to appeal the ruling and keep the facility running, highlighting the ongoing tensions between state and federal authorities over immigration policy.
As Florida intensifies its efforts, critics and supporters alike are watching closely. Supporters argue that these measures are necessary for public safety and to uphold the rule of law, especially given the fatal consequences of the August crash. Opponents, meanwhile, question the legality and humanitarian impact of the policies, warning of potential overreach and the risk of targeting individuals who may be in the country legally but lack certain documentation.
For now, Florida’s roads are at the center of a national debate over immigration, public safety, and states’ rights. The coming months will reveal whether the state’s hardline approach becomes a model for others—or faces significant legal and political pushback.
