34 Illegal Immigrant Truck Drivers Arrested In Oklahoma: ICE

A two-day operation led to the arrest of 70 illegal immigrants in Oklahoma, which included 34 drivers operating a semi-truck or a commercial vehicle, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a Nov. 4 statement.

The arrests were made in partnership with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol between Oct. 28 and 29, said the agency. It is part of Operation Guardian, which has “resulted in the arrest of many illegal aliens driving trucks that had been issued Commercial Drivers Licenses in states with sanctuary policies such as California, Illinois, and New York,” the agency said.

In places that follow sanctuary policies, local officials refuse to enforce immigration laws or comply with federal authorities.

Out of the 34 illegal immigrant truck drivers, 26 were issued a commercial driver’s license (CDL) while eight were “dangerously driving” vehicles without such licenses, ICE said.

The illegal immigrants are from 15 different nations, including China, Mexico, Turkey, Colombia, India, Guatemala, and Venezuela.

As The Epoch Times’ Naveen Athrappully details below, ICE said illegal immigrants who operate vehicles without proper authorization pose a threat to public safety and undermine the rule of law. The operation sends a “clear message” that such activities won’t be tolerated, it said.

Operation Guardian is a deportation initiative implemented in February and led by Oklahoma’s Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Tipton.  Oklahoma aims to use existing state and federal regulations to transfer offending illegal immigrants for deportation proceedings.

“Operation Guardian continues to successfully keep Oklahomans safe,” said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

“To lawfully operate a commercial motor vehicle in Oklahoma, you must be here legally, and you must be able to understand English. These are common-sense standards that we will continue to enforce.”

On April 28, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring that all commercial vehicle operators in the country be proficient in English.

“There’s a lot of communication problems between truckers on the road,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time. “We’re going to ensure that our truckers, who are the backbone of our economy, are all able to speak English.”

In an Oct. 30 statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said 223 illegal immigrants, including 146 truck drivers on Indiana highways near the Illinois state line, were arrested as part of an enforcement operation targeting public safety threats.

The illegal immigrants have engaged in criminal activity, including drug trafficking, assault, child abuse, domestic battery, driving under the influence, and fraud, DHS said. Out of the 146 drivers, more than 40 were issued CDLs, mostly by New York, California, and Illinois.

“Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs. And yet, sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump Administration is ending the chaos,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

In August, an illegal immigrant from India was arrested after making an illegal U-turn in an 18-wheeler in Florida, colliding with a minivan and killing three people. He pleaded not guilty in September.

Strengthening Driver License Rules

In a Sept. 26 statement, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said it had conducted a nationwide audit that uncovered a “catastrophic pattern” of states issuing driver’s licenses illegally to foreign nationals.

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced emergency actions to make noncitizens ineligible for a nondomiciled CDL unless they meet “a much stricter set of rules,” FMCSA said.

The stringent regulations include undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check that uses the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” Duffy said.

“Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers—often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it. Today’s actions will prevent unsafe foreign drivers from renewing their license and hold states accountable to immediately invalidate improperly issued licenses.”

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants submitted comments to the Federal Register, criticizing the move to end nondomiciled CDL for foreign nationals, the group said in an Oct. 29 statement.

The move will not only threaten the livelihood of immigrant drivers but also the stability and well-being of the United States, the committee said.

“Trucking is a job that requires long nights and days away from loved ones. It is a hard job that not many willingly sign up for. As a result, the industry has struggled to keep drivers on staff,” said the group.

“Assailed by these steep labor shortages, immigrant workers have picked up the slack: 18 percent of truckers are foreign-born. Like so many other industries, immigrants fill the jobs others do not want.”

During an Oct. 30 press conference, Duffy announced that the DOT will seek to withhold federal government funds from states issuing nondomiciled CDLs to foreign nationals who are unlawfully in the United States.

States need to ensure that people who receive such licenses are proficient in English, Duffy said.