U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a detainer for Juan Hernandez-Santos, a Mexican national accused of causing a six-car crash involving a school bus while driving an 18-wheeler in Lacey, Washington, on December 4, 2025. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), local authorities released Hernandez-Santos after declining to honor the ICE detainer due to sanctuary policies.
The collision led to three people being hospitalized. State officials reported that Hernandez-Santos did not have a commercial driver’s license but was operating the semi-truck at the time of the incident.
“This dangerous illegal alien has a criminal history including multiple DUIs, possessing a controlled substance, and two prior removals from the U.S. He was a walking public safety threat and illegally was driving a massive 18-wheeler when he caused a six-car pile-up involving a school bus on the highway in Washington,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Thankfully, no children were in the bus. This story could have had a very different tragic ending. The sanctuary politicians in Washington failed once again to protect American citizens by refusing to honor our ICE arrest detainer.”
Hernandez-Santos had previously been removed from the United States twice—first by Border Patrol in February 2005 and again in June 2006 after re-entering illegally, which is considered a felony offense under federal law. He later returned for an unknown third time.
His record includes arrests for driving without a license (May 24, 2008), DUI and hit-and-run with property damage (June 7, 2008), possession of a controlled substance (November 2, 2018), and another DUI (February 24, 2020).
DHS stated that there has been an increase in cases where individuals without legal status have been found operating commercial vehicles across the country. In October, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that through operation 287(g), authorities arrested over one hundred illegal alien truck drivers; additionally, ICE arrested more than ninety individuals without legal status who were driving large trucks in Indiana during that month.
In November, ICE apprehended Akhror Bozorov—a citizen of Uzbekistan wanted for alleged ties to terrorism—while he was working as an unlicensed commercial truck driver in Kansas. In August, Harjinder Singh faced charges related to vehicular homicide after being arrested while driving a semi-truck in Florida; ICE subsequently lodged an arrest detainer against him.
According to DHS officials, their law enforcement personnel continue efforts aimed at preventing similar incidents nationwide and encourage victims affected by crimes committed by individuals unlawfully present in the country to seek assistance through its Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office.
