Quick Cash for Rats: Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) launches "TruckSafe Tipline" to snitch on immigrant drivers [View all]

Sen. Jim Banks launches tip line for truckers to snitch on immigrant drivers
The Indiana Republican wants people to use his “TruckSafe Tipline” to report drivers who they think don’t meet English-speaking requirements or are in the country illegally.

https://www.ms.now/opinion/sen-jim-banks-launches-tip-line-for-truckers-to-snitch-on-immigrant-drivers

As one of the most significant hubs of Ku Klux Klan activity in the early 20th century, the state’s history is rife with examples of bigoted fearmongers who have warned the white masses to stand guard against marginalized groups — be that Black people, Jews or immigrants.

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And this history was front of mind for me as I learned of a new “tip line” launched by Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., for truckers and others in the industry to report on drivers they allege are in the country illegally, or unauthorized to drive a truck, or don’t speak English well enough to meet requirements.

The context here is that the Trump administration, along with its allies in Congress and conservative media, has been cherry-picking recent traffic crashes to portray immigrant drivers as threats to public safety. Even Trump loyalist Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, decried the racist scapegoating coming out of MAGA world after some of these incidents.
Nonetheless, Banks is calling on truckers to snitch on other drivers via his “TruckSafe Tipline” — and his anti-immigrant sentiment is hardly subtle.

“Indiana is the Crossroads of America and Hoosiers are getting killed because drivers who shouldn’t be here in the first place are behind the wheel,” he said in a news release.