Border Patrol Arrests 95 Illegal Immigrant Truck Drivers

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 95 illegal immigrant truck drivers with state-issued commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) during a five-day operation in Arizona, officials announced on Aug. 31.

A total of 143 people from 18 countries were detained, according to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statement. Of those, 95 were described as illegal aliens with CDLs from U.S. states.

The names of the detained drivers or their respective countries of origin were not provided. A total of 76 drivers had California-issued CDLs, six had New York-issued CDLs, and the remaining 13 were from other states.

From Aug. 10 to Aug. 14, the Border Patrol also interdicted two human smuggling operations. Four smugglers and 17 smuggled illegal aliens were arrested, along with the seizure of a firearm, 74 pounds of methamphetamine, and 169 pounds of marijuana, the agency said.

“We are committed to protecting our citizens from all international threats, whether that is from unlicensed or untrained drivers, or transnational criminal organizations engaged in human or drug trafficking,” said Acting Chief Border Patrol Agent Dustin W. Caudle of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector, in the statement.

The Yuma Sector covers parts of Arizona, California, and the entire state of Nevada.

The agency noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation released a final rule that blocks foreign drivers who lack the qualifications from obtaining commercial licenses in the United States.

The Border Patrol news release said the agency is “working with federal partners to enforce the rule of law and restore integrity and safety to the nation’s transportation system,” which will “help remove another incentive for illegal immigration” and enhance border security.

Also Monday, multiple federal agencies including the Transportation Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Border Patrol, said that 270 commercial licensing schools were shut down as a part of a broader anti-fraud effort.

More than 5,000 drivers who failed English proficiency tests were associated with some of those schools, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press conference.

Since the start of the second Trump administration in early 2025, the Trump administration has cracked down on fraudulently issued CDLs amid several high-profile fatal accidents involving foreign national truck drivers.

Of the inter-agency action, Mullin said in an Aug. 31 statement that “there is a growing and alarming trend of illegal aliens being granted commercial driver’s licenses. Many of them don’t speak English or understand the rules of the road, and yet they’re driving among us, endangering our loved ones.”

The Trump administration has previously criticized the California DMV for issuing commercial licenses to unqualified drivers.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed back against the accusations, calling them unfair.

“The facts are plain and simple—California commercial driver’s license holders had a fatal crash rate nearly 40 percent LOWER than the national average,” his office wrote on X in October 2025.