The Indiana State Police says it is watching for fraudulent commercial driver’s licenses reportedly issued to illegal immigrants, after being warned by other states.
ISP told News 10 that, under a 287G agreement with the federal government, troopers help ICE detain suspected illegal immigrants — including commercial drivers traveling on Indiana interstates. “There are illegal immigrants behind these 18-wheelers that you see going down the roadway. We are making traffic stops and finding out that we are running into them,” Sgt. Matt Ames said. ISP has worked with ICE to detain or deport 21 people statewide under this agreement.
Ames said ISP was notified that California and Pennsylvania may have issued fraudulent CDLs to illegal immigrants. In November, California confirmed that at least 17,000 fraudulent CDLs had been distributed.
He added that troopers are keeping a close eye on suspicious commercial vehicles. When asked what signs suggest a CDL may be fraudulent, Ames said some licenses don’t even include a proper name. “When you make a traffic stop with a California driver’s license and the first name is ‘no name given,’ those are things we look at that say this individual might not belong here in the United States.”
Ames warned that illegal immigrants using fraudulent CDLs pose a potential danger on the roads. “It’s very scary when you have 18-wheelers going down the roadway, and making sure that those individuals are authorized to operate those vehicles as safely as possible,” he said.
ISP confirmed that once they identify a fraudulent CDL belonging to a suspected illegal immigrant, they follow the 287G agreement and transfer the individual to local jails partnered with the federal government. Clay County Jail is one of the facilities used for this purpose.