I-78 Stops in LST Lead Police to ID Undocumented Immigrants

Pennsylvania State Police say two recent traffic stops by officers patrolling the busy I-78 corridor in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County, led to the identification of men who admitted to being in the United States illegally.

According to a news release from the Belfast barracks, on Sept. 26 a state trooper stopped a silver 2015 Hyundai Elantra on I-78 east for allegedly displaying a stolen New Jersey license plate.

Police said the 41-year-old driver from Spring Valley, N.Y., subsequently told them “that he was in the United States illegally.”

According to another news release, on Oct. 2 police stopped a 33-year-old Macungie man driving a black 2016 Audi A6 on I-78 east for DUI.

Authorities said he was also found to be in possession of suspected cocaine and allegedly “admitted to being an illegal immigrant.”

According to a February 2026 article published by the website Spotlight PA, under a policy that took effect when governor Tom Wolf was in office nearly five years ago, Pennsylvania State Police don’t actively enforce immigration law, but can tell Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) if “personnel pull over or otherwise interact with an undocumented person.”

“The state’s written policy on immigration enforcement is less definitive, and legal experts say it allows State Police to assist with ICE operations and share information with federal authorities,” the article by Stephen Caruso said. “The policy says that if an officer learns in the course of an encounter that an individual, including a vehicle operator, passenger, victim, or witness, is a foreign national, and then the officer shares that information with federal immigration authorities, they are required to file a report with State Police.”

Immigration enforcement remains a contentious political issue nationally, and perceptions of how immigrants may or may not contribute to crime rates in areas around the country could be a factor in determining outcomes in the closely-watched mid-term elections in November.