Trump administration threatens some funding for 3 states for not enforcing trucker English rules - By Josh Funk AP, Transportation Writer
California, Washington and New Mexico could lose millions of dollars of federal funding if they continue failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.
An investigation launched after a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn on Aug. 12 found what Duffy called significant failures in the way all three states are enforcing rules that took effect in June after one of President Donald Trump's executive orders. He said the department was also already reviewing states' enforcement before the crash.
Truckers are supposed to be disqualified if they can't demonstrate English proficiency, and Duffy said the driver involved in the crash should not have been given a commercial driver's license because of his immigration status. The crash has become increasingly political, with the governors of California and Florida criticizing each other and Duffy highlighting the administration's immigration concerns in interviews.
But Duffy said it is a safety issue — not a political one — because truckers need to be able to tell law enforcement what they are hauling if they are pulled over or what happened if there is an accident.
"We all use the roadway, and we need to make sure that those who are driving big rigs — semis — can understand the road signs, that they've been well trained," Duffy said.
Duffy says these states aren't enforcing the rules
The Transportation Department said California has conducted roughly 34,000 inspections that found at least one violation since the new language standards took effect. But only one inspection involved an English language rules violation that resulted in a driver being taken out of service. And 23 drivers with violations in other states were allowed to continue driving after inspections in California.
Duffy cited similar statistics for the other states, with Washington finding more than 6,000 violations of safety rules during inspections, but only pulling four drivers out of service for English language violations. He said New Mexico has not placed any drivers out of service since the rules took effect.
Duffy said the states will lose money from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program if they don't comply with the rules within 30 days — $33 million for California, $10.5 million for Washington and $7 million for New Mexico.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office said on the social platform X that the Trump administration is just trying to deflect responsibility for the crash.
"This is rich," it said. "The Trump Administration approved the federal work permit for the man who killed 3 people — and now they're scrambling to shift blame after getting caught. Sean's nonsense announcement is as big a joke as the Trump Administration itself."
A spokesperson for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state's process for issuing commercial licenses includes a mandatory English component to ensure divers can read and understand traffic signals.
"We are aware of recent claims regarding the enforcement of these regulations and are actively seeking more information," Michael Coleman said via email. "Initial reports suggest that these claims relate to a small number of roadside incidents over a three-month period."
Washington's governor declined to comment until after officials review Duffy's letter.
Florida crash killed three people
Three people died when truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on a highway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach and a minivan slammed into his trailer, according to Florida's Highway Patrol. Singh and his passenger were not injured.
He is being held without bond after being charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations.
Diamond R. Litty, the elected public defender in St. Lucie County, said her office was provisionally assigned to Singh's case during his initial appearance Saturday morning.
Litty said her office will focus on the criminal charges against Singh, but it will also work with an immigration attorney to determine how his status affects the case. After more than three decades at her position, Litty said she cannot recall a case that garnered more attention.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Singh has been caught in the crosshairs of politics," Litty said.
The head of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association trade group, which represents small-business truck drivers, praised Duffy's announcement.
"Basic English skills are critical for safely operating a commercial motor vehicle — reading road signs, following emergency instructions, and communicating with law enforcement," said Todd Spencer, the group's president.
Federal officials say driver was in US illegally
The Department of Homeland Security has said Singh, a native of India, was in the country illegally. So Duffy said he should not have been granted a commercial driver's license by Washington and California. He said New Mexico should have pulled Singh off the road for not speaking English after he was pulled over in July because he later failed a test given by DOT investigators after the Florida crash.
But the governor's office in New Mexico said a body-camera video of the police stop of Singh makes it clear that he understands English.
Released Tuesday, the video shows Singh speaking in broken English during the highway-side stop and commercial vehicle inspection by a New Mexico State Police officer. Singh responds to a series of instructions during the inspection, and asks how long the citation will be linked to his license.
"This my ticket and on my license ... how many year?" Singh says.
The officer issues Singh a reduced speeding citation for driving 10 mph (17 kph) above the speed limit in a 45 mph (72 kph) zone, noting Singh's explanation that he was already trying to slow down.
"We believe that a full review of the incidents in question will demonstrate that New Mexico is in full compliance with federal law and that New Mexico State Police are effectively enforcing safety regulations on our roadways," Coleman said.
Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia issue licenses regardless of immigration status. Supporters say that lets people work, visit doctors and travel safely.
Newsom's office said California followed all the rules when it issued a license for Singh in July 2024, while the federal government confirmed at that time that he was in the country legally. Newsom has also said Singh obtained a work permit during Trump's first term, which Homeland Security officials disputed. Newsom said the permit was renewed in April and federal officials have not addressed that.
Florida authorities have said Singh entered illegally from Mexico in 2018. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Singh should have never received the license.
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Associated Press writers David Fischer, Kate Payne, Morgan Lee and Eugene Johnson contributed.
NM committee chair who once stymied ICE detention center ban says he’s reconsidering - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The chair of the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee who earlier this year killed a legislative effort to ban federal immigration detention in the state, said Tuesday he was open to changing his mind about the controversial issue.
The remarks from Sen. Joe Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) came at the end of a contentious, two-hour hearing among lawmakers on the interim Courts and Criminal Justice Committee, which Cervantes also chairs. Members heard from a panel of Democratic lawmakers and a civil rights lawyer who support such a measure and county officials who oppose it.
The question of whether the state will continue to allow counties to contract with private prison companies and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house its detainees took on new urgency in July when the governor’s chief lawyer said such a measure could be on the agenda of an upcoming special legislative session.
Cervantes on Tuesday acknowledged he’d effectively killed House Bill 9, which would have banned the facilities, during the 60-day session when he refused to schedule it for a Senate Judiciary Committee. He said he has that right and “awesome responsibility” as chair of the powerful committee to stymie legislation he deems “not yet ripe.” He also noted he’d voted against similar measures in previous years.
But he said President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda has made him reconsider his position, citing the CECOT facility in El Salvador and what he said is the president’s disrespect for the rule of law. He appeared to fight back tears when quoting Ronald Reagan’s embrace of immigration as a national value and describing conditions at CECOT.
“How did we get there in six months?” he said. “And so my mind may be changing, and many of the rest of yours may not, but I when I cast those votes, I lived in a different United States where the rule of law, as a lawyer, to me, meant something.”
As President Donald Trump has ramped up his mass deportation efforts, the number of ICE detainees is expected to increase, including in New Mexico’s three facilities in Torrance, Cibola and Otero counties.
On Monday, Republican lawmakers on the CCJ committee, along with one Democrat, visited the Otero facility, with the GOP members championing the jobs it represents and defending the conditions it provides for detainees.
Cervantes stopped short of endorsing banning the facilities or keeping them in New Mexico, but wondered aloud about the detainees’ fates if they were no longer held in the state. He also sought to reassure lawmakers on both sides of a complicated and seemingly intractable issue that he was listening to their perspectives.
“It may seem that way to most of you, that no minds will be changed. You’d be wrong,” he said. “My mind may be changed.”
'You can't drink data.' Public debates Santa Teresa data center - Algernon D'Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
A large data center proposed for Santa Teresa drew opponents as well as supporters from the public Tuesday as Doña Ana County commissioners heard a proposal for a large tax incentive package to help build it.
The commissioners voted 4-1 to proceed to a September vote on $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds, which support private manufacturing and infrastructure investments through tax abatements. The bond is secured by the enterprise’s future revenue and does not commit the county to any spending or borrowing; but it does forego potential revenue from taxes in exchange for negotiated direct payments.
The proposed Project Jupiter would include four data center buildings supporting AI technology and a microgrid facility producing and storing electricity.
Behind the project is BorderPlex Digital Assets, a firm based in Austin, Texas. In February, the company projected it would spend $5 billion on construction over a decade, to include $1.5 billion in annual IT equipment acquisition and $230 million in manufacturing equipment.
The company’s leadership includes Alicia Keyes, who served as New Mexico’s Economic Development Secretary during Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s first term. Keyes, who was present at Tuesday’s meeting but did not speak, is BorderPlex Digital’s government affairs officer.The governor signed a memorandum of understanding pertaining to the microgrid that would power the facility, agreeing that as long as it provided power solely to the facility it would not be regulated as a public utility. The MOU also allowed the possibility that electricity generated from natural gas or nuclear generation could qualify as “zero carbon” energy under New Mexico carbon-reduction law, if the greenhouse emissions contributing to the microgrid remained below certain thresholds.
The commissioners also voted to consider an ordinance qualifying the project for state LEDA funds, which would grant the company a 50% return on the gross receipts and compensating taxes collected by the county and reimburse qualifying expenses.
Public hearings on both ordinances are set for Sept. 19.
Many in attendance displayed homemade signs protesting the project, with most expressing concerns about the water required for cooling data centers. Santa Teresa, where the proposed data center would be built, and areas of Sunland Park have contended with longstanding issues with water supply and quality. One of the signs stated, simply: “You can’t drink data.”
“This sounds to be a wonderful thing for Doña Ana County, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do this,” Commissioner Susana Chaparro said, calling for greater community engagement preceding the ordinance process. “This community deserves answers to the questions they may have.” She subsequently voted “no” on moving the process forward.
Some commenters requested detailed information about the project, while others were categorically opposed to projects supporting AI, which requires massive computational infrastructure, electrical power and water for cooling.
BorderPlex Digital Chairman and cofounder Lanham Napier offered a brief summary of the Project Jupiter proposal, including $300 million in direct payments in lieu of taxes to the county and pledges of 2,500 construction jobs and 750 permanent positions, with full salaries ranging from $75,000 to $100,000.
Addressing concerns about water, Napier said the center would feature a closed-loop cooling system requiring a single fill-up at the beginning of its service life. He argued that Project Jupiter would not affect residents’ electric bills and would explore using brackish water to sustain its operations, with ongoing water consumption limited to daily workplace use.“For any water consumption that’s required, this project will invest to fund it,” Napier said. “We will end up with very valuable jobs on the other side of it.”
“We know what the needs are for our community, particularly around water,” Commissioner Manuel Sanchez said, participating in the meeting by telephone. “With the state really looking to push for appropriations to help us build this infrastructure, potentially, it means that our communities could benefit from tapping resources that we’ve never been able to tap in the past.”
Local residents, including some prominent community organizers in the county, urged the commissioners to put equity for local communities ahead of the interests of corporate shareholders, while others argued in support of Project Jupiter, saying additional jobs in the area could help families in the border-area colonias stay together.
Sylvia Ulloa of Las Cruces was among the speakers seeking a careful study of the potential lost tax revenue that could support local schools, roads and services — including water.
“What are we giving up when we say that we’re not going to tax these corporations on all of this infrastructure, on their equipment?” she said. “We need to know for sure: What is it that we’re giving up for that?”
Santa Fe county commissioners approve Rancho Viejo - Santa Fe New Mexican
The Rancho Viejo Solar project in Santa Fe County has been approved. Santa Fe County commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday to give the project the green light. Rancho Viejo is a proposed solar energy generation and battery storage facility that would be built about 3 miles south of Santa Fe near Eldorado.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the Rancho Viejo complex would occupy 680 acres of its 800-acre property. In addition to solar energy generation and battery storage, the project would also include a 2.3-mile generation line running about four miles east of La Cienega.
Tuesday’s vote followed a highly contentious public review process. Earlier this month, county commissioners heard more than 20 hours of testimonial on the proposal over the course of two days. Many of those opposing the project are residents of the Eldorado community, which is near the Rancho Viejo site.
Tuesday’s vote does not necessarily make the final word on Rancho Viejo. Those opposed have already stated their intention to appeal the county’s decision to state District Court.
Rancho Viejo Solar is a project of Virginia-based electricity company AES Corp. Supporters of the project said it could supply roughly all of Santa Fe’s residential electricity needs with renewable energy.
Area residents have cited concerns including the risk of fire and a negative effect on property values.