The Trump administration removed more than 50 illegal immigrant truck drivers from the roads last week in the latest sting as part of an effort to make America’s roads safer.
The Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security announced Tuesday evening that authorities removed 766 unsafe truck drivers and vehicles from highways nationwide during a three-day crackdown from July 28 to July 30 under Operation Highway Shield.
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Fifty-one of those people were detained and identified by law enforcement as illegal immigrants. Of the 51 illegal immigrants, 21 had been given non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses by California and New York, meaning they live in the U.S. but do not have permanent status to remain in the country.
Thirty-six drivers were cited for failing English Language Proficiency tests.
“Every life lost from an illegal trucker behind the wheel of a big rig is a completely preventable tragedy – and this administration will not stand for it,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “Our new partnership with DHS builds on President Trump’s progress to secure our roads, eliminate fraud, and restore the integrity of trucking in America.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arm worked with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state highway patrols to check driver and vehicle documents in various states. The federal agencies involved did not specify where they set up checkpoints.
Eighty-six drivers were arrested on charges of dangerous behavior behind the wheel, including road rage, and nearly $1 million in stolen cargo was recovered in the effort.
The transportation sector’s trucking industry is increasingly the focus of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration as the federal government targets foreign commercial drivers nationwide.
While President Donald Trump’s first term focused heavily on border security, his second term has examined how illegal immigration affects business, healthcare, education, and crime — and his administration is implementing plans to disincentivize illegal immigration by targeting programs that have attracted it.
FOREIGN TRUCK DRIVERS IN THE U.S. REMAIN A TOP TARGET OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
In the wake of at least 17 fatal roadway accidents and 30 deaths in 2025 that involved illegal immigrants operating commercial trucks, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Trump administration has repeatedly ramped up its targeting of states that gave commercial driver’s licenses to people not authorized to live or work in the United States.
DHS and DOT announced a partnership in July to investigate and go after illegal immigrants who use out-of-state addresses to be able to apply for non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses in liberal states that issue these types of licenses.
