49 Illegal Alien CDL Holders Nabbed at Border Checkpoints as Feds Warn State Over Massive Licensing Scandal

Border Patrol agents in Southern California arrested nearly 50 illegal aliens operating semi‐trucks with state‐issued commercial driver’s licenses in just three weeks, exposing what federal officials say is a growing public‐safety crisis tied to California’s rubber‐stamped licensing system. U.S. Border Patrol The arrests-made at El Centro Sector highway checkpoints and during a multi‐agency trucking sweep-come as the U.S. Department of Transportation threatens to withhold millions in highway funds unless the state reins in its improper issuance of commercial licenses to non‐citizens. The drivers were observed operating semi-tractor-trailers at checkpoints within the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector on state highways 86 and 111. Between November 23 and December 12, agents assigned to the Indio, California, station working at the two checkpoints arrested 42 illegal aliens with commercial driver’s licenses. In another simultaneous multi-agency operation, an additional seven illegal aliens were found with valid commercial driver’s licenses in Ontario and Fontana, California by Indio Station agents. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), of those arrested, 30 were Indian citizens, two were from El Salvador, and the remainder were from China, Eritrea, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Russia, Somalia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Of the 31 commercial driver’s license holders encountered at border checkpoints, 31 were issued by the State of California. The remainder were issued by Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Acting Border Patrol Chief Joseph Remenar of the El Centro Sector commented on the results of the operation, saying, “El Centro Sector personnel are stalwart defenders of our nation’s security, whether that occurs at the border or in the interior of the United States. Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2026, El Centro Sector’s arrests of individuals in the interior have surpassed those at the border, directly illustrating what can be accomplished when a secure border is achieved.” In a single two-day period, on December 10 and 11, Border Patrol agents from Indio were deployed to Ontario and Fontana, California, to participate in Operation Highway Sentinel, a large-scale enforcement operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations branch. In addition to the seven illegal alien commercial driver’s license holders arrested by the border patrol agents, 38 others were taken off California highways by the multi-agency law enforcement agents participating in the operation. The illegal aliens arrested during the two-day operation included nationals of Tajikistan, India, and Uzbekistan. Operation Highway Sentinel targeted commercial over-the-road trucking companies operating throughout California. According to CBP, the operation was conceived and launched after several fatal accidents were caused by illegal aliens who had been issued commercial driver’s licenses and were operating semi-tractor-trailer trucks at the time of the accidents. The operation follows efforts by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to crack down on the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to unqualified immigrants. In March, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy signed an order announcing new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. According to the USDOT, under the new guidance...

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