49 More Illegals With CDL’s Nabbed in CA, WA Among States Issuing Licenses

US Customs and Border Patrol reports another CDL driver sweep has netted 49 arrests of commercial truck drivers who were in the US illegally, and had licenses issued to them in defiance of the law.

  One of the states in the sweep was WA

Between November 23 and December 12th, agents working the El Centro, CA sector (south of San Diego) conducted sweeps, checking licenses and verifications.

They ended up arresting 49 drivers who had illegally-issued CDL's, or commercial driver's licenses. 30 of them were from India, 2 from El Salvador and the rest from China, Haiti, Honduras, Eritea, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Somalia and Turkey.

According to US Customs and Border Patrol:

"California issued 31 of the commercial driver’s licenses; eight licenses were issued by Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington." (bold added for emphasis)

Operation Highway Sentinel resulted in the bulk of the arrests, and it specifically targeted commercial trucking companies in CA.  The operation was undertaken after several fatalities earlier this year involving drivers with illegal CDL's causing accidents in various areas of the nation.

According to  El Centro Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Remenar:

 “Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2026, El Centro Sector’s arrests of individuals in the interior have surpassed those at the border, directly illustrating what can be accomplished when a secure border is achieved.”