U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 36 commercial truck drivers during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Arizona, the latest sign of increased federal scrutiny of commercial drivers’ immigration and licensing status.
Agents assigned to the Yuma Sector arrested 52 individuals during Operation Checkmate, conducted May 11-15, for being in the U.S. illegally. Of those arrested, 36 were operating semi-trucks, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Border Patrol officials said Operation Checkmate was designed to identify and apprehend individuals unlawfully present in the country who were operating commercial motor vehicles.
Of the 36 truck drivers arrested, 29 possessed commercial driver’s licenses issued by California, New York, Washington and Virginia, according to a news release. Thirty of the drivers were citizens of India, while the remaining six were from Mexico, El Salvador and Russia.
The operation comes as federal and state officials increase oversight of commercial driver’s license programs for non-U.S. citizens.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s revised rules governing non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses took effect March 16, limiting eligibility to certain visa classifications and requiring states to strengthen verification procedures.
Several states, including California, Washington, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Ohio, have recently paused, reviewed or modified their non-domiciled CDL programs while determining compliance with updated federal guidance.
The Arizona arrests come as other states have launched similar enforcement initiatives targeting commercial drivers. In Oklahoma, the Highway Patrol recently reported that its yearlong “Operation Guardian” identified more than 600 truck drivers who were allegedly unlicensed, improperly trained or in the country illegally, according to .
Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton said investigators also uncovered drivers with criminal warrants and what he described as “pop-up” trucking schools improperly issuing commercial driver’s licenses, calling it “a well-organized criminal network that’s done this to the trucking industry,” he said to News on 6.
An analysis by Overdrive found Texas has been one of the largest issuers of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses in the nation. The state has issued more than 51,000 non-domiciled CDLs over the past decade.
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