Photo: CBS 12
St. Lucie County's Sheriff testified before a congressional subcommittee this week about a deadly alleged illegal U-turn along the Turnpike at the hands of an illegal immigrant.
Sheriff Richard Del Toro spoke to members of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
"For the families of those victims this is not a policy debate, it's a permanent loss."
He's referring to the three people killed when their minivan crashed into the back of the semi being driven by Indian national Harjinder Singh last August.
It was later discovered that he was in the country illegally and shouldn't have been holding a commercial driver's license, but was given one by a blue state, even though he failed English proficiency and road sign tests.
"It was a national story obviously because of the fact of the non-domicile CDL issue by an illegal immigrant that came over the Border I believe in 2018, was issued a notice to appear and then failed a test in the state of Washington I believe 10 times before detaining it in California."
Del Toro told lawmakers (1:24 in video above) that Florida has already taken steps to stregthen its system, including the verification of immigration status electronically, requiring drivers with temporary legal status to apply for licenses in person and requiring all drivers license testing to be conducted in English.
But the sheriff says that "when these standards vary between states, those inconsistencies can create vulnerabilities that place our communities at risk."
"Highway safety is not a partisan issue. It is a public safety responsibility."
Singh has pleaded not guilty to charges including vehicular homicide and remains behind bars in St. Lucie County.