Today on Sekulow, a shocking arrest exposes a hidden crisis. on America's highways. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you.
Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host. Welcome to Sekulow, everyone. Will Haynes here, and we've got a packed show for you today. We'll be joined by Cece Heil to talk about some of the work of the ACLJ in a couple segments, and then we'll have Rick Grinnell joining us as well to talk about that visit.
from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia visiting a White House today. But I wanted to cover this. This is something that. We've been talking about me and the producers here for some weeks of this growing crisis. And there's a story that came out of the Department of Homeland Security today.
That really just felt like now's the time to talk about this. The Department of Homeland Security has made an arrest of a wanted terrorist. This is someone who is wanted on terrorism charges for Being a member of a terrorist organization, he's accused of distributing terrorist propaganda, calling for jihad. as well as recruiting terrorists to join in jihad. He's from Uzbekistan The Department of Homeland Security arrested him just a few days ago in Kansas.
Now, this individual entered the United States illegally. In February of 2023, we know that was a problem under the Biden administration. People that were wanted for terrorism, that were on watch lists, were able to cross the southern border. and then sneak away into the country. He was apprehended by Border Control.
And then released by the Biden administration back into America. Not only that. He's later granted work authorization by the Biden administration. And then in Pennsylvania. He is granted.
A commercial driver's license. By the government of Pennsylvania.
So, this man, a wanted terrorist from Uzbekistan, enters America illegally, is released, and then is able. To work as a commercial truck driver crossing. The country. a critical part of the United States infrastructure. because of the failures of the Biden administration.
He was arrested by ICE on November 9th. While driving, A truck. But this isn't just an isolated story about one person wanted on terrorism charges that was able to fool people and get a commercial driver's license. We're seeing a crisis within the truck driving industry. And I know we have a lot of truck drivers that listen to this broadcast, so I want to hear from you.
What are you hearing? With those that are your colleagues that you meet up along the road. I know we have a lot of over-the-road drivers, so give us a call at 1-800-684-3110. I want to hear from you because. California.
Just announced. They are having to cancel 17,000. Commercial driver's licenses. That were issued to people that now are no longer still authorized to be here. Let that sink in.
California. The sanctuary state of sanctuary states. is having to cancel 17 thousand commercial driver's licenses. And there is a lot more ahead with Secretary Sean Duffy, who is working hard to get this problem under control when you see that there are people that are not authorized to be in the United States that have authorization To drive America's trucks, the backbone of this country. critical infrastructure.
I want to hear your thoughts on it. Give me a call at 1-800-684-3110 to talk to me on air. We've got a lot more ahead. We'll be talking about important work of the ACLJ, including a new lawsuit we just filed on Friday. Fighting back against a city discriminating against churches.
You want to hear about that? That'll be with CC Heil, as well as Rick Grinnell joining us to talk about the visit from the Saudi Crown Prince at the White House and what this all means. But right now, we are in the middle of our November Freedom Drive. Your donations are doubled. Support the work of the ACLJ at aclj.org.
Welcome back to Sekulow. We're talking about this issue with commercial driver's licenses. That is, it's not something you're hearing everywhere, but I think it should be. Because what we're seeing now is that There is somewhat of a crisis within the issuance of CDLs. who they are being issued to.
And whether or not that is the way it should go. You're hearing about California. Canceling seventeen thousand CDLs because the people they were issued to. May have had work authorization at some time, but no longer do, yet they still have an active driver's license. To drive large trucks.
Imagine you were talking about 40 tons of steel driving down the highway. There is a great responsibility. that our nation's truck drivers have. They keep America moving. They make sure that you can go to the grocery store.
and get the food. and the s goods that you need. Anything in this country that you go to buy, you can thank truck drivers because of the infrastructure. that they make sure keeps moving. But yet, California is having to cancel 17,000.
CDLs, because of this issue. We're talking about this arrest that was made in Kansas. from an Uzbekistani national. that has come to America illegally, was able to obtain a C D L in Pennsylvania. And it was picked up by ICE this week.
This is a wanted terrorist from Uzbekistan. He is a member of a known terrorist organization. And Was accused of distributing terrorist propaganda, calling for jihad online, as well as recruiting terrorists to join the jihadi movement. That is not someone that should be a crucial part. of our nation's infrastructure.
You take that another step further. You've seen all the hard work that the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, was having to deal with during the shutdown. keeping planes in the air, making sure that people were safe. in America's skies.
Well, they also were shifting and proposed a new rule because of this crisis. On Uh the requirements to get Commercial driver's licenses, CDLs. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. blocked that rule, saying, one, they didn't quite go through the procedural process that was necessary. Two.
They failed to make their case. That these restrictions that were aimed at keeping illegal immigrants from getting commercial driver's licenses. Statistically would keep people more safe. That's the argument of the court here. Then the administration failed to make the argument.
That restricting illegal immigrants' access to commercial driver's license would keep Americans safe. It's absurd. That's where we are. I want to take your phone calls on this as well. George is calling from Arkansas on line one.
George, you told our screener you're a truck driver. I want to thank you for that. America needs you. You are a crucial part of our country. George, you're on the air.
Well, thank you. I appreciate this. I've been a driver since 1988. Oh. We this has been a problem for over ten years.
We've been yelling about it. And I'm Unfortunately, it's getting national wide press because people are dying every month. from this crisis. And yes, it's a crisis. Because They don't know how to read our word road signs like that person at Florida from California CBL.
He couldn't read the road sign. That's fast. That's right. And George, what George is referencing is there was someone who had a CDL from California. in Florida, made an illegal U turn.
Was not familiar with the signs, didn't know what was going on, made an illegal U-turn. on an interstate. And a van ended up slamming into it, killing the occupants of that vehicle. That was someone who was here illegally that got a CDL in California. There's also a crisis of these CDL mills where looser state regulations allow for.
Yeah. People to get CDLs that aren't necessarily meeting their requirements. I should not be able to go out. and drive An eighteen wheeler. Right now.
I understand that there is training. that it is difficult It is a very large, important piece of machinery that moves America. I understand that if I wanted to go do that, I need to go train, learn. And get certified and get that commercial driver's licenses. And there is a lot of responsibility that would go with that.
But yet there are people trying to cut corners. And so you see these CDL mills and you see people in California that are or in states that are a lot more loose about getting people jobs that are not authorized to work here. And this is a crisis. And I think that Secretary Duffy is doing the right thing, but we also have to expose what's going on. This is not just happening overnight.
This has been, as our caller George said, something that the truck drivers have been talking about for a decade. Of how bad it's gotten. Let's go to MJ calling online two from New York. MJ, you're on Sekulow. Good morning.
First time caller. I do have a CDL license since 2009, but my information is of Back in 204, yes, um, 2004, um I had tenants and before that I was searching for housing. to purchase. And I found that my tenants had license plates from PA. although they lived in New Jersey.
Um and this was common. very common. And the tenants informed me that, yes, they were illegal. And that one day they were playing a game and coming home. They were pulled over.
And there's quite a few of them. And the police asked for their license, and they handed over a Mexican license. which was retained, but the vehicle was not impounded Um they were not arrested. obviously. And that's my story I want to share.
I was puzzled at the fact that Pennsylvania was giving licenses to illegals.
Well, and that is specifically where the CDL from this individual was from. It was from Pennsylvania. We have seen what is now becoming this crisis where states that have. Democrat leadership. That have different thoughts on the way that our immigration policy should be put forward.
And then have wanted to fight the Trump administration or the policies of the previous Trump administration. That then, when Biden was in office, they tried to go so far against what the strong border protection that was put in place from 2016 to 2020. And had all these strong reversals.
So. It's a problem of our leaders' doing in many cases. Yes, these individuals are coming here, not legally, breaking the rules. But They're also being allowed to do it. Because they are able to get a government-issued commercial driver's license.
They're able to be released. By the Border Patrol in 2023, when this individual. If they had done any sort of background check, after he was picked up by Border Patrol. He would not have been released into the interior of the United States. He was wanted by Uzbekistan.
For terrorism.
So, this is not just something that the President and the administration has done a great job. Border crossings are at record lows. But isn't as we see as well that it's just Border closed, and then the people that are being deported that are here that are criminally illegal. and the problem is fixed. This has found its way into areas of our society.
That We would never even think of when you were driving down the interstate with your family. And you see a semi-truck beside you, forty tons of steel. in cargo. In diesel. You're not thinking to yourself.
The license that individual has to drive that very awesome and impressive piece of machinery. He shouldn't have. It was issued by the state of California, which their restrictions weren't what they should be. That person driving that machine. is wanted for terrorism.
That's not how this should work. And I'm glad that Secretary Duffy is on this and that he is looking at ways to do this. But also the American people need to know about this. This is not something that should be kept under wraps because we know the failed policies of the previous administration got us here. And we have to make sure we course correct.
We'll be taking more of your calls later. 1-800-684-3110. But also, we are in our November Freedom Drive. Your donations are doubled. You support this broadcast.
You support all the incredible legal work that we do here at the ACLJ. And we're going to talk about some of that in the next segment with CeC Heil. About a city that is targeting because of the activities of a church. and trying to restrict their equal access to city property. Donate today aclj.org.
Welcome back to Sekulow, Will Haynes here. I'm joined in studio now by Cece Heil. Senior counsel here at the ACLJ in Cece. This is a story we brought up last week on the broadcast. This is a town in Colorado.
That has public parks that are open for the use of the community. These are taxpayers that are able to use their public spaces for gathering. And these churches were using this pavilion at a park as an outreach. They were doing praise and worship, they were sharing the gospel. Feeding people that need food.
This is at a time When we were hearing a lot about the government not being able to provide food to people. Right. And the city decided, you know what, we don't really like that on a Tuesday and Thursday, it's not like the churches are taking over the park every Saturday and Sunday so no one can have their kids' birthday there. No one can have a gathering at a pavilion. They had taken this over.
No. During the week. Feeding the hungry. worshiping God. And the city decides We want to shut this down.
We can't have people doing good charitable work in our community. And they've actually cited some of these pastors with criminal citations. That's right. So we have a two-fold situation here in LCC. And I want you to go ahead and talk about that.
Yeah. And I'm going to say that, you know, what's really egregious too is that this was happening for four years, for over four years. There were no complaints. There were no issues. There were no problems happening.
You literally have the church being the church, which I think is wonderful. And not just one church, you actually had churches coming together, which is again wonderful.
So the body of Christ is coming together to worship and pray and serve and outreach. Four years, every Tuesday, every Thursday. There are over, I think, eight pavilions in this park. Each one of the pavilions holds up to at least 50 people.
Some of them hold up to 72 people. These events were drawing on Tuesdays. I think they had 30 to 40 people. On Thursdays, they had about 20 people.
So they were complying. It was all on a first-come, first-served basis. There were no problems whatsoever until. The city decides they don't want this happening and they're going to target it. And they literally have the chief of police coming to them saying he was tasked with shutting them down.
And so now you have this event, which is lovely, which is a religious exercise. And now you have the prohibition. That only groups of They stop, they prohibit groups of five or more people from using the public park pavilions, outdoor spaces, on a recurring basis. And this was literally targeted to this religious group. We know that.
We know that from conversations that have. We have filed. in federal court now. Because we are asking, obviously, the court to throw this ordinance out as unconstitutional, but we're also in local court defending these pastors and parishioners because they have criminal citations still against them in this city, and that is ridiculous.
Well, and you bring that up: that we actually our lawsuit has already been filed, so we are in federal court on this issue, trying to get this completely just done away with. But also. We have to go before court in that in the middle of December. Yes.
So these pastors. as they should be sharing the gospel. and about the birth of Christ. Getting ready to explain why we celebrate this Christmas season. Those three pastors.
are gonna have to be in court. to face Criminal allegations, criminal citations by the city for doing what? Meeting in a public park, giving food to the hungry, doing what. What the gospel calls us to, but what Americans should do to help their neighbor. And what was such a crisis just a few weeks ago with all the SNAP benefits.
Yes.
And what were people saying, like, oh, now I'm going to go help the people. They didn't have to wait until there was a government shutdown to do this. They were always doing it, right? And yet, that is too much for this city in Colorado. Yeah, absolutely.
It's the church being the church. I mean, I'm very proud of this congregation and the three congregations that joined together to do it. And sometimes, you know, you don't see that because sometimes there's competitions between churches, but this was such an outreach of love and just wanting to pray together, to worship together, and to feed people who needed food. That is all they were doing. And again, they've done it for four years every Tuesday and Thursdays.
There's never been an incident. There's never been a problem. There's never been a complaint. And yet, you see, once again, a city council and a city digging their heels in because they don't want this Christian faith. Being um Distributed like it is, and being shown like it is when you just love your neighbor and you're providing food.
And so we're, it's, it's a violation of the First Amendment outright, and we're going after it. I want to play this real quick, and I want to thank the production team for getting this in quickly. I had completely forgotten about this. I saved this clip on my phone. when I heard it.
And then, until we were having this conversation, it hit me that I had saved it. And so I sent it to our team. This was a joke on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. The government shutdown is over, and they're making a joke about the SNAP benefits being funded now until next year, so don't worry.
So, let's roll what Michael Che had to say. And then uh just the The irony of the joke of him calling out Americans around that time with what was going on in Colorado, I think just fits perfectly. Let's go ahead and roll this. The bill ending the government shutdown will fund SNAP through next September and thank God because I was this close to donating food. The gut punch of that joke is that there were so many Americans that were, maybe for the first time ever.
Like, oh, the government's not feeding people. I guess I have to. Just the world we live in, that that is humor. And yes, it's supposed to be some biting commentary. On what we were seeing.
That people only cared when it got political. When it was, oh, One party's not taking care of the people. No, we as Christians believe. And as conservatives believe, It isn't the government's job to take care of everyone's needs. Right.
But we, as the church, do need to stand up. And that is exactly what this church in Colorado is doing. They are showing up for people, they are sharing the gospel and showing it in their community. And It's almost like the government's like, no, no, no, no. Don't, that's that's kind of our gig.
Yeah. We're supposed to be the ones, and the federal government's supposed to be the ones. Except you don't see them doing that. You don't see the city council saying, hey, we'll come in and feed them. No, absolutely not.
They literally are attacking this church and this congregation, several churches, their free exercise of religion and their free speech. And they are not, what's sad is they're attacking them for doing what's good and right and for exercising their faith and practicing their faith. But they're not willing to step in and replace what they're doing. They just want to shut them down. Folks, that is why.
You support the ACLJ. Because towns in Colorado that are going after churches for doing. God's work. And for doing the work that so many people criticize the government for not doing, and for the work that you falsely hear on places like Twitter, well, where's the church? Why doesn't the church step up?
They are. But you know what they don't do? They don't go around bragging about it. Instead, they get criminal citations for it. And then it takes us to go to court.
Both federally to get this city to knock it off, as well as locally. To be able to defend them in their criminal cases. And it doesn't take the money away from them for doing God's work. They don't have to pay a dime for our legal representation. That's where you come in.
You can support their good work too. By helping them through this fight, donate to the ACLJ. Your donations are doubled during the Freedom Drive, aclj.org slash freedom, donate today. Um Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow.
Welcome to Sekulow. We're in our second half hour, and we're going to go right to the phones. We've been talking about this CDL crisis where the DHS has announced that they had arrested a man wanted on terrorism charges. in Uzbekistan. It was here illegally.
was released by the Biden administration. Able to get a commercial driver's license. And now has been arrested by Ice. This also comes at a time when a federal court has blocked a new rule. On CDLs, which would make it harder for people like this individual to get a CDL.
At the same time that California is saying, uh-oh, we have 17,000 CDLs we need to cancel. There's a pattern here. And we're uncovering it and we're going to keep talking about it. But I also wanted to hear from you because I know a lot of people, and I've been doing this job a long time. I know we have a great listener base of people that are over-the-road truck drivers.
So I said, I want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on this? And I'm going to go to the phones right now. Fred is calling from Pennsylvania, online for Fred. You're on Sekulow.
Yeah, I drive for the biggest or if probably the biggest logistical company in the United States, if not worldwide. And we're coming up into our real busy season. And I've been doing this for 20 years, and every year it's the same thing. I see Coming into our hubs. Uh truck drivers that UPS can't handle all the volume.
So we um uh we hire these subcontractors and many of them uh can't even speak English because we have a hard time communicating with them. Um you know, what to do, where to go, you know, what loads they're going to take out, bring back in. And so I know that if they're having a difficult time communicating with us, that they're certainly having a difficult time reading street signs, not to mention the test, the written test that's required for a CDL. Right. And that's what I think is so important for people to think, too.
This isn't you're 16 years old and you're going and getting a driver's license for the first time or 15 and getting a learner's permit so you can drive with your parents in the car. There's a reason why it takes additional steps in training. And rightly so, and for people like you that are the backbone of this country. We are so grateful for that. But this is a situation where Regulations on American workers have been overburdensome.
And therefore, you see companies needing to fill holes. We know that there were logistics crises during the COVID crisis and epidemic.
So What is the natural thing? You're going to find states that cut corners and you're going to find bad actors that think they can make money by pumping out CDLs and exploiting legal loopholes. Not everyone is a bad actor in that thing, but that is the consequence. that you see. When you have over-regulated sectors on American citizens, And yet, you have an administration that was open and freely just letting people come across the border.
that are able to dodge a lot of that and find places with loopholes. To get work. And not all of those people are a terrorist from Uzbekistan. But The goal of the administration should be Keeping the American people on our interstates and our highways safe. And this track record is not doing it.
And so I applaud Secretary Duffy. I know that they're going to fight that ruling in court. I also know there's some legislation that needs to pass, probably through both houses of Congress. To support American workers, but also support American families that drive on the same roads. We'll get to more of your phone calls coming up.
We also have Rick Grinnell that's going to be joining us talking about what is happening live right now. The President and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia sitting down in the Oval Office. But support the work of the ACLJ at aclj.org. Your donations are doubled during the ACLJ Freedom Drive. Welcome back to Sekulow.
I'm joined by Rick Grinnell. And before I get to Rick, I want to say one, thank you to all the callers that are on hold and all the truck drivers that called in today. I'm going to get to all your calls in the next segment.
So bear with me. I'll be right back on that. But also on Rumble, we had some people asking about the city in Colorado where we are fighting in federal court now.
Sometimes, if it's like a local school or something where we don't want to bring more attention to the student we're fighting for, we will refrain from naming that. But this is actually, you can go read about it at aclj.org, the entire case. And the city is city of North Glen in Colorado.
So I wasn't neglecting for any reason to name it there other than I just didn't name it.
So, but you can go read all about that in our fight against the city of North Glen, Colorado. ACLJ.org. It also has our lawsuit if you'd like to read that over. Always a treasure trove of information at aclj.org. But I want to go to Rick Grinnell now because Rick, the Saudi crown prince and President Trump are, as we speak, speaking in the Oval Office.
This is the first time in, I believe, seven years since the Saudi Crown Prince has been here. Obviously, it was different circumstances last time. He was there with then he came in and met with President Biden. But the first time since Donald Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince have met. But what is different now than when the Saudi Crown Prince came under Biden as far as the relationship?
and what you think that the President will be talking to him about today.
Well, look, this has always been a complicated relationship, but a very important relationship to get right because this is a country, Saudi Arabia Powerful and influential in a region that has been in turmoil. And President Trump has made it clear. That he's going to deal with Turkey and Saudi Arabia. and the Emirates and all of the important players in the region in order to achieve peace. This is a President who concentrates on the goal, which is peace.
trying to find a way to make sure that we are allowing peace to flourish And demanding that individuals in the region work towards peace. This is not a perfect system. This takes a leader. to work past some of the criticisms and to understand that the ultimate goal is worth this process. And so I'm so proud of President Trump for being able to talk directly to everyone.
If we can get this moment, Where the Saudis join the Abraham Accords and create. A permanent link. For peace with Israel, I think you transformed the entire region, and that's what President Trump is focused on.
Well, and we know that the reports were. Obviously, we on this side of the microphone, Rick, I'm not going to push you on anything you may have known during the administration, but we know from reporting that the That was kind of the next step that people were looking at: that the Saudis may have been close. in the first administration, the first term, to joining the Abraham Accords. Obviously, the damage done under the Biden administration, both between the U.S. relationship with Israel as well as just the turmoil you saw outbreak in the Middle East was a setback.
But now we know this is on the agenda. We know this is something that is reported they are going to be speaking about, among many other things. But do you think it's foreseeable in our future? that this could be a reality. That Israel and Saudi Arabia could have normalized relation.
And it's something that if you had asked us 15 years ago if that would ever happen in my lifetime, I would say, not a chance.
Well, look, I think there is a chance because of President Trump. There's no one that's been able to forge these types of agreements better than President Trump. And I think that we have the opportunity. To achieve peace in the Middle East because President Trump is completely focused on doing what he has to do to achieve that peace. And he's able to withstand the criticism.
He's able to withstand all of the critics who talk about serious issues that should be considered. But he believes President Trump believes that peace trumps all of that, making sure that Israelis, Arabs, Jews, Muslims, everybody gets to live peacefully. And I think that's a worthy goal.
Well, and Rick, I think what's so interesting to me is that you see. No matter what the United States press and what the Democrats want to say about how unstable Trump is making the world and things of that nature that they'll make up and publish. When you see this meeting, and that it's even the question of could Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords or You read this headline today that the UN Security Council has adopted the U.S. resolution on Trump's Gaza plan. That things are getting done on an international stage at a hostile body to the United States and to President Trump openly.
But they're accepting this plan. This is something that is moving forward. Uh I I just once again it it shows that His out-of-the-box thinking is able to get things done at places that most of the United States would have written off a long time ago. I agree. It really goes to the heart of a leader and leadership because too many times politicians and diplomats and others Crack under the pressure of media attention or criticism, and you will never have a great leader.
If you have somebody who's concerned about their press coverage or about pleasing everyone, you have to understand as a leader that you make decisions. for the common good. You make decisions of what's best for the majority of people, and you withstand the critics who constantly want to complain about the exceptions to the rule, not the rule.
Well, and you're also seeing the waves that are being made at the UN with the way that the President is not afraid to reach out to individuals that Can help the cause of Of people that are suffering. I think it's fascinating to see: one, you're getting this that the UN Security Council is adopting the US resolution for the Gaza plan, but then you're also seeing the new ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, who is. Taking the stage with Nikki Minaj, a very well-known rap artist that has taken up this cause of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. This is something the ACLJ has fought for for. Almost 15 or 16 years trying to get attention to it.
But being able to think outside the box and partner with people. They have a much larger audience that probably never once thought about International Christian persecution wasn't in their news feed, wasn't in their algorithm. But now this administration is able to partner with people like that to show real suffering, real persecution and maybe start to get people behind a solution to that. And I want to get your thoughts on that.
Well, look, I've always thought that talking is a tactic. It's not a goal. Being able to approach someone and talk about the position that you have, this is something we've learned as kids, to be able to listen and then calmly speak and present your argument. Talking to somebody is nothing more than just a tactic. But too many times in diplomacy, Especially at the UN, we've been told that having a meeting or talking to somebody is somehow a reward.
There needs to be a total agreement before you reach out and talk to someone. Look at what President Trump has done with North Korea. He went to North Korea, talked to Kim Jong-un, and said, look, here is what I believe is the best position forward for my country, your country, and for peace. That's not a reward for the North Koreans. That's a direct conversation with them.
And there's nothing better than that. Rick, thank you so much for joining us today. As always, we appreciate your insight on these things, especially when it comes to places that you have spent your career understanding the ins and outs of, and that you can give some wisdom and knowledge to our audience as well. But, folks, we are coming up on our final segment of the broadcast. We will take all these callers.
So, Robert, Sarah, Ronnie, Dan, and Grant, stay on the line. Thank you for holding. I appreciate it so much. I'll get to you just after this break.
Well remember, we are in our November Freedom Drive. These two months at the end of the year, November, December, are the most important months at the ACLJ. And your donations are matched. They are doubled during this freedom drive.
So go to aclj.org/slash freedom. Help support the work we do. When we go to Colorado and fight for churches and pastors that have been criminally cited. for doing what? Public outreach.
in a public park. That is paid for by the taxpayers of that city, including those who are there using it. We're there defending them. It doesn't cost them a dollar. They can focus on their outreach and doing the good work that they are called to do.
But you join us. and go to court with them. And fight back. Your donations are doubled. Aclj.org/slash freedom.
Donate today. Welcome to Sekulow final segment of the broadcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. And we're going to go straight to the phones. We're going to go to Ronnie, who's calling in South Carolina online three.
Ronnie, thank you for holding. I appreciate it. You're on the air. Good afternoon. I escort oversized loads.
I'm a pilot's car or a pilot escort.
So I'm the car in front of or behind oversized loads like rockets, windmills, big stuff. And Just one example. I was placed with a driver that spoke. and understood no English at all, nothing. And he had no CB, which is Required by law, which even if he had it, honestly, he wouldn't have understood anything I said.
He didn't know how to put the equipment on the truck and he couldn't comprehend what I was trying to tell him, which is you have to have the oversized load banner on the front and back and you have to have signs and flags and So trying to show him and he got angry with me, started cussing and took off.
Well, he pulled out and left without me.
So I had to chase them down the road, and when we got to the the scale house, the way station. They were just going to let them go. They didn't even look at him. He had put the oversized load banners on the sides of the load instead of the front and the back. He because he couldn't comprehend what I was telling him.
He put the flags on the front and the back instead of on the size of the load. And they were just going to let him go. And so I hauled my horn and motioned you need to come out here to the people in the way station. I said, he doesn't have a permit. He has no radio.
He probably doesn't even have a license, and you're just going to let us go down the road. You didn't even look at him. Nothing's right.
Well and I forgot. Go ahead.
Sorry to interrupt. No, he had no license. And was working for a very large company that's all over the U.S. And Ronnie, I think that is the secondary issue with this entire problem is that we're talking about. individuals that have licenses that have been granted them.
That should not have them. We're not even getting to the problem of those that are operating and driving without even the license.
So one, this is a situation where I'm glad Secretary Duffy is on it. that he is going to make America's roads safe. and protect people like you that are a pilot car driver behind very large loads of things you mentioned, rockets, windmills. We've all seen oversized loads in pilot cars on the interstate. You want people to be qualified to be doing these jobs.
And the fact that it for so long was just brushed over and the policies that got us here is a little scary. But we know that the administration is looking into this And we need to look at other ways that maybe the ACLJ, whether it's FOIA requests, things of that nature, that we can get more information about what went on. Let's go to Grant calling in Arizona on line six. Grant, you're on Sekulow. How you doing?
I wanted to say when I started truck school in 2009, the school was six weeks long. The first two weeks we spent in the classroom. We didn't even get into a truck. We were learning laws, rules, how the equipment works, how it works, what it's supposed to do. I go in because of I'm in Arizona, I go into California a lot.
I was in Fresno and I saw a truck school and on their training trailer, big letters on the side with their phone number, it said, get your license in 20 days. They're foreign owned. I mean, just right there, you think about the responsibility that an individual. Is undertaking when they get their commercial driver's license. The weight of the vehicle alone.
I mean, you think about if you're used to driving a Honda Civic. And all of a sudden you drive, you know, a a a a dually truck. There is a difference in the way you stop, right?
Now we're talking about a private. Transportation vehicle versus a commercial transportation vehicle, that is such a vast different thing. You would think someone driving it would want. To spend more time training and understanding it.
So, I mean, thank you for pointing that out. It's fascinating. But once again, it's things like that. These CDL mills that I think the administration needs to look into and crack down on, that are trying to get people through loopholes. Instead of making sure that our roads are safe, let's go to Dan in Iowa.
Online five. Dan, thank you for calling and thank you for your work as a truck driver. Thanks, guys. It's been a good show today. I just want to say I've had my CDL twenty five years.
I've owned my own trunky company for nine. And I haul hazardous material. And I'm petrified anymore going up and down the road because I have no idea. who's beside me. I'm scared to park at night in certain places, not because it's a bad neighborhood.
'Cause I don't know if I'm gonna wake up to somebody smacked in the side of my truck. Right. blocking me in because they just drive until they're a little logbook says don't drive anymore.
So they just pull it over wherever they're at. I think your last caller about the training was spot on. I mean, there is no there is a standard That's being sidestepped. I've seen accidents at truck stops. Where you know somebody bonks into somebody, so they go to exchange paperwork and Broken non-communicative skills, they hand out cash.
They say, We can't, no insurance, no insurance. What are you doing out here? I have a million dollars liability. I pay $1,000. a month for my insurance, you know, that somebody else is just kind of starting those rules.
And they're chameleon carriers. You shut them down. They're going to pop up again in 48 hours under a different name and number, but it's the same. Clowns in the same circus, different circus. I hear you, Dan.
Dan, I'm gonna uh get to one more phone call today. Robert calling from West Virginia, online one. Robert, you're the final call of the day. Uh, you're on the air. Hello.
I just want to get straight to the point. I agree with the other callers that you've got to be skilled. I think if you're not skilled, you don't know the language. And I even say if you're not American, maybe a few Canadians, but then you have no business driving on this road. I've seen them come down from Canada and Mexico, too.
So it's not just here.
Well, Robert, all of you, there's been the theme here. And what I hear is that you all want, you know, it's a tough job, that you know it's an important job. You know that it's a job that requires training. It's not something you just want someone to jump in a truck and just take off with forty tons of cargo.
So do you think that the Secretary of the Transportation is doing the right thing, looking into this and trying to get to the bottom of it? Yeah. go all the way with it 'cause I I know it it seems like there's uh some of the politics involved that uh they're Still trying to allow some of it, like the non-domicile CDLs and stuff. I think I should cut all that out, too. I hear you, Robert.
And I think that's what is important, and that's why it's important to talk about it, folks. This isn't something that you're seeing on mainstream shows. You may see an article about it here and there, but we thought it was important today to bring it to you. And really, it was what triggered it was when we've been discussing this, me and producers here and engineers here for weeks. We've been seeing little stories.
And then we see this: that the Department of Homeland Security had arrested someone that was wanted for terrorism. Where did they arrest him? Not at the border. He had already gotten through the border under the Biden administration, turned loose, and became a commercial truck driver, and was arrested in Kansas. I'm glad the administration's looking into it, but I think everyone needs to be educated on it as well and to hear more about it.
We're at the end of this show today. We will talk to you tomorrow. And please go to aclj.org and support us during our Freedom Drive. Aclj.org slash freedom. Your donations are doubled.
We'll talk to you tomorrow. Yeah.
