Operation Checkmate in Arizona led to the arrest of 52 truck drivers, including 36 semi-truck drivers. Three of the semi-truck drivers reportedly had no driver’s license at all, and many had expired Employment Authorization Documents. The arrested drivers are
For the week of May 11, the road into Arizona became a checkpoint of its own. In a crackdown that U.S. officials call Operation Checkmate, U.S. Border Patrol Agents arrested 52 people they said were in the U.S. illegally.
The numbers came out in a single burst of detail: 36 of those arrested were driving semi-trucks, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Of the 36 illegal alien semi-truck drivers arrested. 29 were in possession of commercial driver’s licenses from states such as California. New York. Washington and Virginia. Three did not possess any form of driver’s license. The rest of the group was split by origin: 30 were from India. while the remaining six were from Mexico. El Salvador and Russia. The arrested drivers are now scheduled for deportation.
Border Patrol said many of the drivers possessed expired Employment Authorization Documents.
Dustin Caudle. acting chief patrol agent of the CBP’s Yuma. Ariz. sector. framed the operation in terms of risk on the road. “Operation Checkmate reflects our commitment to safeguarding communities and roads from unlawfully present drivers who pose significant risks to public safety. ” Caudle said. “My agents are on patrol every day to ensure we stop these individuals and prevent more deadly crashes from occurring on the road across the United States.”.
The crackdown arrives as federal oversight of who can legally drive commercial trucks tightens further. In the past year, the U.S. Department of Transportation has focused on CDL standards and making sure that all truck drivers are properly vetted before being allowed to operate.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a final rule regarding non-domiciled CDLs that took effect in March. Under the rule, an Employment Authorization Document is no longer enough to obtain a non-domiciled CDL. FMCSA estimated that there were about 200. 000 non-domiciled CDL holders. and that the final rule would force about 194. 000 to “exit the freight market.”.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also described related removals during a House committee hearing in May. He said thousands of drivers, who were deemed illegal or unable to meet federal English-proficiency standards, have been removed from the roads.
“We’ve worked with states to cancel 28. 000 illegally issued licenses for unqualified foreign drivers. and we’re holding some states that aren’t cooperating accountable. ” Duffy said. “We all need to follow the same rules. We’ve also knocked out more than 20. 000 drivers out of service for failing to meet basic requirements like reading our road signs or being able to communicate with law enforcement.”.
Operation Checkmate Arizona U.S. Border Patrol CBP truck drivers arrested commercial driver’s license CDL Employment Authorization Document deportation FMCSA non-domiciled CDLs
So they’re arresting truck drivers… but what about the roads being trash? Seems backwards.
This is wild. If their work papers were expired then yeah I guess they can’t be driving. But “no license at all”??? How do they even get hired to start with?
Wait I thought CDL meant you’re good automatically, like it covers you. But they said 29 had commercial licenses from all kinds of states and still arrested them… so was it just because of the Employment Authorization Docs? Kinda confusing.
Operation Checkmate sounds like those chess memes, not law enforcement. Also they’re saying India and Mexico and Russia like that’s the whole story. I’m not even sure what a driver’s license vs employment authorization doc is supposed to do, my cousin just got a job driving and nobody checked anything like this.