Dozens of illegal alien truck drivers busted with licenses from deep blue states

FIRST ON FOX: A multi-agency operation in Arizona’s Yuma Sector led to the arrest of 95 illegal alien truck drivers earlier this month, striking at the heart of human and drug smuggling operations at the U.S. southern border.

All 95 drivers had acquired state-issued commercial driver’s licenses; 76 from California, six from New York and the rest from a handful of other states, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The apprehensions continue to demonstrate the high volume of narcotics and human trafficking smuggling operations that are alive and well at the border — even as immigration numbers have plummeted in recent months.

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"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," Acting Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Since the end of 2024, border crossings have plummeted, going from over 144,000 encounters in December 2024 to just 33,000 in July.

Even so, CBP has reported several high-profile smuggling attempts that have sought to bring weapons, narcotics and humans across the U.S. border.

Earlier this year, CBP released reports on how it had prevented a car carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher from crossing the border, detected dozens of immigrants crammed into a semi-truck and even detained a boat off the coast of the Dominican Republic with the help of a Black Hawk helicopter.

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Trucking, in particular, has been a key way in which smugglers have sought to bring weapons and humans into the country.

According to CBP, the bust earlier this month, which took place between Aug. 10 and 14, also stopped two human-smuggling events, resulting in the arrest of four smugglers and 17 smuggled aliens. Additionally, agents seized 74 pounds of methamphetamine and 169 pounds of marijuana. In total, authorities arrested 143 suspects from 18 countries.

To prevent schemes like these, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is finalizing a rule to prevent unqualified drivers from obtaining CDLs.

If implemented, the rule would limit CDLs to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 nonimmigrant status holders — types of visas with more stringent vetting requirements.

The rule would also prevent an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) as a way to prove eligibility, citing lax reporting and scrutiny on their approvals.

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"Moving forward, unqualified foreign drivers will be unable to get a license to operate an 80,000-pound big rig," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press release about the rule.

"Under President Trump’s leadership, we are putting the safety of the driving public first," Duffy continued. "From enforcing English language standards to holding fraudulent carriers accountable, we will continue to attack this crisis on our roads head-on."