Senate committee advances bill for reform after illegal immigrant’s crash

A Senate bill seeking to make changes after an undocumented immigrant was behind the wheel of a commercial truck in a fatal crash advanced through its committee stop Wednesday.

With a 6-2 vote, Sen. Don Gaetz’s SB 86 cleared the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

“Last August, an illegal alien who could not understand road signs or traffic laws and didn’t know how to drive a commercial vehicle swerved an 18-wheeler into a family’s car and killed three Floridians,” said Gaetz, a Crestview Republican. “Sadly there are more cases.”

Harjinder Singh, who is from India, was in the crash on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County and driving with an out-of-state commercial driver’s license.

Singh’s crash has sparked a rallying cry from Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans demanding action.

Under Gaetz’s bill, the motor carrier could be fined $50,000 if unauthorized immigrant was taken into custody and the commercial motor vehicle was impounded .

“The bill allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue an out-of-service order which prohibits the motor carrier from operating any commercial vehicle in Florida until violations are corrected and penalties are resolved,” Gaetz said during the committee. “The point of the bill is not to go after the alien who probably has been victimized and sort of abused and put into a position that he or she should not be in driving a vehicle that can’t drive in situations they can’t understand. The real villains of the peace here are those who would put an illegal behind the wheel.”

In future situations, local law enforcement would be required to transfer the undocumented commercial driver into federal custody.

“It is the policy of the state to address the  emerging issue of commercial motor vehicle operation by  unauthorized aliens who are not authorized to operate in this  state … and who may not meet English  language proficiency requirements or have the operational  understanding to safely operate such vehicles,” the bill said which declares them “an imminent safety hazard.”

Sen. Jason Pizzo, an independent, said he supported the bill during the lawmakers’ brief debate.

“If you’re going to operate a commercial vehicle and you’re an unauthorized alien here in the United States, you probably don’t have insurance to cover my kids’ funeral costs, and that’s my position,” Pizzo said, adding he believes in compassion but not at that emotional cost.

Human rights advocates criticized the bill as they called it anti-immigrant.

“I beg you to vote in opposition and please for the love of God, stop calling people aliens. It’s inappropriate,” said Kimberly Cox from Voices of Florida.

SB 86 needs its third and final committee vote before going before the full Senate.