Thursday, April 9, 2026 |
Photo – US Representative from Wyoming Harriet Hageman speaks at Jeffrey Center in Rawlins – by Matt Copeland Bigfoot99
Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman highlighted her work in Washington DC, including efforts to remove unsafe commercial truck drivers from the road.
On Tuesday, April 7th, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman held a town hall‑style meeting at the Jeffery Memorial Center in Rawlins. In addition to discussing her work to expand tribes’ authority to lease their lands, secure funding for Wyoming‑specific projects, and increase the country’s influence within the United Nations, Congresswoman Hageman also noted her work to improve safety on the nation’s roads. The congresswoman said the Biden administration’s failure to secure the border has contributed to a rise in illegal‑alien and non‑English‑speaking commercial truck drivers on highways.
Congresswoman Hageman said it appears that many trucking companies are putting illegal drivers behind the wheel in violation of federal law.
Congresswoman Hageman recounted a conversation with her nephew who hauls cattle near Jay Em in Goshen County. The congresswoman said her nephew reported that many commercial truck drivers appear unqualified and unprepared to operate on Wyoming’s highways. Hageman questioned how those drivers were obtaining commercial licenses without the ability to speak or understand English.
After looking into the issue, Hageman said she found that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations have required all commercial driver’s license holders to demonstrate a minimum understanding of English since 1937. However, the congresswoman said the Obama administration directed federal agencies to disregard the language requirements, allowing illegal immigrants onto the nation’s highways.
Congresswoman Hageman said the issue is two‑fold: non‑English speakers being issued commercial driver’s licenses and the rise of so‑called chameleon carriers. Hageman explained that chameleon carriers repeatedly change Department of Transportation identification numbers to avoid complying with state and federal laws.
Congresswoman Hageman said the number of chameleon carriers, mainly operating out of Illinois, Minnesota, California, and New York, has surged over the past four years. Shutting them down can take up to two years, after which they simply change DOT numbers and get back on the road. To combat that practice, Hageman said she worked with national trucking organizations to draft a bill giving the Department of Transportation more authority to permanently take these carriers out of service.
On February 3rd, an illegal immigrant from Kyrgyzstan caused a head‑on collision in Jay County, Indiana, that killed four members of a local Amish community. In discussing the crash, Congresswoman Hageman said illegal truckers are operating far more widely than she previously understood, noting that Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak reported that roughly one‑third of the commercial drivers he pulled over were illegal immigrants.
Congresswoman Hageman also discussed Connor’s Law, a measure she introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last May. Named for 18‑year‑old Connor Dzion, who was killed in 2017 by a distracted commercial truck driver, the bill codifies President Donald Trump’s executive order restoring the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations’ minimum English‑proficiency standards. The mandate requires all commercial driver’s license holders to read and speak English well enough to understand highway signs and communicate with the public. Hageman said that lack of language skills likely contributed to truckers continuing down Interstate 25 despite recent high‑wind closures.
Hageman added that the trucker involved in last year’s deadly Green River Tunnel crash was also believed to be an illegal alien.
The congresswoman said many states, including Maine, New York, and California, are home to so‑called CDL mills, driving schools that prioritize speed and profit over safety and driver proficiency. Hageman said one school in California admitted to issuing over 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses to non‑English speakers, but the state has refused to revoke the licenses. In addition, Hageman said a school in New York focuses on licensing Chinese citizens, which the congresswoman said presents a national‑security risk.
After opening the floor to public comments, an attendee pointed out that the majority of commercial trucking fatalities involve English‑speaking drivers. Congresswoman Hageman agreed, saying that all chameleon carriers, even those that employ authorized workers, must be taken off the road to improve safety.
Congresswoman Hageman said she considers how Americans, including Memorial Hospital of Carbon County EMT Tyeler Harris, might still be alive had the illegal immigrant involved not been permitted into the country. Harris was killed on December 21st, 2022, while responding to emergency calls on Interstate 80 after Haitian‑born trucker Saviol Saint Jean crashed into his ambulance. Saint Jean was found guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Congresswoman Hageman said it is wrong when anyone violates the law, including American citizens. However, the congresswoman added that Tyeler Harris, 12‑year‑old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was murdered by two Venezuelan nationals, and Laken Riley, who was also killed by a Venezuelan national, might still be alive had their accused killers not been permitted into the country illegally.
