• What Happened: Wyoming's Laramie County Sheriff ran a three-day operation with ICE called "Truck Around and Find Out," making 177 traffic stops and handing 32 illegal immigrant truck drivers over to federal agents.
  • Why It Matters: Unlicensed, undocumented truckers who can't read English road signs are causing fatal crashes across the country, and Sheriff Kozak is one of the few willing to do something about it.
  • Bottom Line: Legal truck drivers were honking and waving at deputies to thank them, and Kozak has a message for anyone thinking about driving illegally through his county.

A Wyoming sheriff just showed the rest of the country how it's done.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak wrapped up a three-day enforcement operation February 23-25 called "Truck Around and Find Out," partnering with ICE and the Wyoming Highway Patrol to target commercial trucks bypassing ports of entry and unsafe drivers on U.S. Highway 85, Interstate 25, and Interstate 80. Deputies made 177 total traffic stops, including 82 commercial vehicles, issued 51 citations, and arrested 32 illegal immigrants who were turned directly over to ICE.

Kozak was blunt about what his county will and will not tolerate. "Hopefully now the word is out, this is not the county that you want to truck around and find out," he said. "When I say truck around, I mean drive a truck undocumented, unlicensed and unsafe."

This is not Kozak's first rodeo. Last October, he and 25 of his deputies were sworn in by ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, giving them full federal authority to enforce immigration law. "Operation Safe Haul" in November was the first commercial truck enforcement operation. "Truck Around and Find Out" was the second. The message is consistent and it is landing.

The sheriff was also careful to acknowledge the truck drivers doing things the right way. "I really want to thank the truck drivers who are out there doing it right," Kozak said. "I especially want to thank the truck drivers that were honking at our deputies, waving at them, stopping, thanking our deputies for helping them keep their industry safe and our roadways safe in Laramie County."

The stakes are real and they are deadly. Kozak has been vocal about a pattern he is watching unfold on American highways, where unlicensed drivers who cannot read English road signs are causing fatal crashes. In Wyoming, wind advisory signs warn truckers about dangerous conditions requiring minimum vehicle weight. Drivers who cannot read those signs are rolling the dice with everyone's life on the road.

"We're seeing in Wyoming and throughout the country, these big trucks are causing crashes and people are dying," Kozak said.

The ACLU of Wyoming predictably cried foul, calling the operation an immigration roundup dressed up as a safety effort. Kozak did not take the bait. This is about safety, he said, and the overlap between illegal trucking and dangerous roads is not a coincidence. It is the point.

Thirty-two fewer illegal truckers on American highways. One sheriff who means what he says. More sheriffs should be paying attention.