IF THEY WEREN’T HERE TO BEGIN WITH, THESE PEOPLE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE
Exactly two weeks ago, I wrote that opening in a post about a ghastly story that had just happened on one of the rural state roads and US ‘highways’ that crisscross through the cornfields and farm counties of Indiana. Two semi trucks were trundling along the narrow, two-lane state road when the lead vehicle braked as the car ahead of it was turning right. For whatever reason, the semi following it, instead of doing the exact same thing, chose to pull out in the left lane to go around.
It was a fateful choice, especially for the van carrying five people coming in the opposite direction. It slammed head-on into the cab of the truck that had suddenly appeared in its lane. The impact left four members of a close-knit Amish community dead at the scene, and their friend, driving the van, was fighting for his life in the hospital.
Besides the obvious traffic charges, the driver, named Bekzhan Beishekeev, an illegal Kyrgyzstani national, was arrested on an outstanding ICE warrant.
In comments on the tragedy, locals and folks who travel those backroads and byways regularly offered eye-opening testimonies about how the traffic has increased exponentially on them, as what they presume are drivers for these ‘chameleon’ trucking networks taking routes that will keep them the freest of weigh stations and ICE checks at truck stops.
It was almost as if they were prescient because it happened again – just yesterday. Another deadly, utterly avoidable wreck.
One person is dead after a crash in Hendricks County on Wednesday, according to the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were dispatched around 12 p.m. on Wednesday to U.S. 36, at the road’s intersection with County Road 525 East, on a report of a crash.
A passenger vehicle will never win an argument with a fully loaded tractor-trailer.
…According to a news release from the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office, a Freightliner semi-truck with a trailer was reportedly travelling eastbound on U.S. 36 when it allegedly ran the red light at the intersection. The truck reportedly struck a Chevrolet truck travelling northbound.
The release said the impact caused the Chevrolet to strike a Chrysler that was in the left turn lane traveling westbound on U.S. 36.
The occupant of the Chevrolet, identified as 64-year-old Terry Schultz, was pronounced dead at the scene. No other individuals were transported to an area hospital.
Blessedly, there were marvelous, compassionate human beings at that intersection yesterday whose first thought was for the mortally injured Mr. Schultz.
I talked to the woman who witnessed the crash. She was almost hit by the semi as well. She got out of her vehicle, called 911 and prayed over Mr. Schultz while he took his final breath. I say this because she would love to meet his family so they know she was with him and he was… https://t.co/k1t1qdpsoq
— Angela Ganote (@angelaganote) February 18, 2026
…She got out of her vehicle, called 911 and prayed over Mr. Schultz while he took his final breath. I say this because she would love to meet his family so they know she was with him and he was not alone.
Another utterly avoidable, heartbreaking fatality with the same category of murderer.
…Officials with the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Indiana State Police assisted with the crash investigation. HCSO also indicated that ISP detained one of the drivers involved in the incident on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
And the calls to investigate these trucking companies grow louder.
Now would be a good time to look into the fraudulent trucking companies located in the Indianapolis area. https://t.co/7hiwesmRZi
— l (@bigolbrisket) February 18, 2026
Where are the anti-ICE protesters here? What would they say to the Schultz family if they dared open their vile mouths at all?
Our deepest condolences to the Schultz family on their loss.
Thankfully, this nationwide scourge is under attack from both red state administrations and, more importantly, the federal government under the purview of Department of Transportation (DoT) Secretary Sean Duffy. Unlike other presidents, Trump’s cabinet works hand in hand with each other, reaching across departments for whole-of-the-problem solutions, instead of a single point of focus.
And this DoT secretary has never gone missing, unlike the previous Biden administration office holder. In fact, it’s hard to miss Duffy as he’s got damn near as many gigs nationally as Sec State Rubio has internationally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations are being backed up by DoT in a number of ways and putting the bite on many of these clandestine shipping networks.
One quick check is enforcing the ‘English-speaking’ mandate for all truck drivers. Border checks for trucks as they come into a state are providing evidence of how widespread the problem is.
BREAKING – ICE has begun mass inspections of tractor trailers at state borders, with video from the Florida‑Georgia line showing dozens of empty trailers after drivers were stopped and arrested for failing to meet English-language compliance requirements. pic.twitter.com/Fcr18CbvG7
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) February 11, 2026
If the owners want their trailers back, they have to come get them.
In fact, ICE has been ramping up mechanisms that have long been in place for truck stop checks and has signed memoranda with 40 states so far. They have what’s called ‘sprinter vans’ chock full of ICE agents and local law enforcement partners poised to roll into stops at any given time or location, now nationwide.
This is amazing work on the part of the administration.
On February 18, 2026, FreightWaves founder Craig Fuller reported that ICE agents in sprinter vans are showing up at truck stops and rounding up undocumented drivers, collecting more than 30 in a single two-hour sweep at one location. In a follow-up post, Fuller warned shippers directly: if your driver is arrested, your cargo will be stranded at an unknown location, unsecured, and likely unrecoverable.
The freight industry reacted as if this were breaking news. It isn’t. At TruckSafe Consulting, we’ve been sounding this alarm for years, not because we predicted the exact moment ICE would roll sprinter vans into a Pilot, but because the legal infrastructure for such enforcement has existed for decades and has been expanding at an unprecedented rate. It’s called the 287(g) program, and if you don’t know what it is, you are already behind.
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to deputize state and local law enforcement officers to perform the functions of federal immigration agents. This is not a new program. The first agreement was signed in 2002 with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. What is new is the scale.
As of February 18, 2026, ICE has signed 1,427 Memorandums of Agreement for 287(g) programs covering 40 states. To put that number in perspective: during Trump’s first term in 2019, only 45 of these agreements were signed. Over 1,130 were signed in 2025 alone. The program has gone from a niche enforcement tool to a nationwide apparatus.
They’re hitting them from every angle and not just the drivers and companies. They’re going after non-compliant states and their highway funds.
Two days ago, Duffy’s department announced that it was expanding its ‘non-domiciled‘ commercial driver’s license (CDL) crackdown to Illinois.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is expanding its nationwide crackdown on state-issued commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), with Illinois becoming the latest state warned of potential decertification.
In a letter sent on Tuesday to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a “Preliminary Determination of Noncompliance” revealing that an audit found systemic failures in how the state issues non-domiciled CDLs – licenses granted to drivers who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
…They’re part of a broader federal push under an executive order issued by President Trump last year that directed FMCSA to audit state licensing agencies for unusual patterns or irregularities in non-domiciled licensing.
In the case of Illinois, DOT found “significant violations” in nearly 20% of 150 driver records sampled.
“Specifically, regulators discovered that Illinois had issued CDLs to foreign nationals that remained valid long after their legal presence in the U.S. had expired,” according to DOT.
The state also failed to show it had verified the lawful presence of many applicants, DOT asserted, relying on expired documents or insufficient paperwork.
Not getting its act together comes with harsh penalties for a non-compliant state that the Trump administration doesn’t hesitate to enforce.
…The federal government has ordered Illinois to immediately pause the issuance of all new and renewed non-domiciled CDLs and commercial learner’s permits. The state must also conduct an internal audit and begin the process of voiding or rescinding all noncompliant licenses.
If the state fails to correct the deficiencies, FMCSA could withhold 4% of its federal-aid highway funds in 2027 – roughly $64.3 million – doubling to 8%, or $128.6 million, for subsequent years of noncompliance, DOT warned.
More damaging would be a potential full decertification of the state’s CDL program, which would prevent Illinois from issuing any CDLs to its residents.
We’re about to watch the entire Elk Grove Village, IL freight market go up in flames. pic.twitter.com/Ulu6TaHtiO
— SuperTrucker 🚛💨→💻 (@supertrucker) February 18, 2026
Yesterday, Secretary Duffy announced the DoT would begin the decertification process for more than 550 driving schools found to be either sub-par or illegal.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that it will be closing over 550 commercial driving schools that have been found to have safety issues, such as unqualified instructors and inadequate testing. pic.twitter.com/NJagHNdB7W
— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) February 18, 2026
Duffy is going to shut them down, and kudos to his department for finding them in the first place. DoT inspectors did actual physical ‘site visits’ – what a concept!
Mayor Pete would still be putting the lock back on his bike.
More than 550 commercial driving schools in the U.S. that train truckers and bus drivers must close after investigators found they employed unqualified instructors, failed to adequately test students and had other safety issues, the federal Transportation Department announced Wednesday.
The move marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to improve safety in the trucking industry. And unlike its actions last fall to decertify up to 7,500 schools that included many defunct operations, this latest step is focused on active schools inspectors identified as having significant shortcomings in 1,426 site visits completed in December.
Kind of funny how some of the schools ‘self-deported’ when they heard there were actually going to be ‘exams,’ huh?
…Duffy said 448 schools failed to meet basic safety standards. Inspectors found such deficiencies as employing unqualified instructors, failing to test students’ skills or teach them how to handle hazardous materials and using the wrong equipment to teach drivers. Another 109 schools removed themselves from the registry of schools when they learned inspections were planned.
As for yesterday’s horrific wreck in Indiana…
BREAKING: Per multiple federal sources, a semi truck driver arrested yesterday after allegedly running a red light in Hendricks County, IN and crashing into another driver, killing him, is an Indian illegal alien who was caught and released at the border in 2018 by the first… pic.twitter.com/Yj6Wx4wXHM
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 19, 2026
…caught and released at the border in 2018 by the first Trump administration. I’m told he was a minor at the time.
While local police have not yet identified him, federal sources tell @FoxNews his name is Singh Sukhdeep, and he received his CDL from the red state of Indiana in May 2025. Photo of the license is provided via federal source. (I have redacted his address).
He is now in ICE custody.
…God knows there is still so much left to do.
Thank God someone’s trying to do it.
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