TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new bill filed on Thursday aims to bring new rules regarding illegal immigrants driving commercially in the Sunshine State.
The bill — SB 86 — was filed by Sen. Don Gaetz (R-1), who also filed another proposal involving “granny flats” earlier this month.
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According to its text, SB 86 would require that any law enforcement officer who discovers an undocumented immigrant driving a commercial vehicle take the migrant into custody.
The officer would then have to facilitate the transfer of the unauthorized alien into federal custody, as federal law mandates.
However, the bill would also require that any vehicles found in a situation like this be impounded, with the owner needing to pay a $50,000 fine to get it back.
“A motor carrier that owns, leases, or otherwise operates a commercial motor vehicle operated by a person who is taken into custody pursuant to this section may not operate in this state,” the bill reads.
If passed during the upcoming Florida Legislative session, SB 86 will take effect on July 1, 2026.
This latest proposal comes after a trucker made an illegal U-turn along Florida’s Turnpike last month, leaving three dead.
In that case, investigators said that the driver — identified as Harjinder Singh — was an undocumented immigrant who had illegally entered the country in 2018 via California.
It was in California that Singh received a commercial driver’s license — a fact that Gov. Ron DeSantis came down on during a news conference shortly afterward.
Singh was later arrested in California and flown back to Florida to face charges of vehicular homicide.