A highway sting in Arizona nabbed 36 illegal immigrants driving semi-trucks, mostly from India, and three of the big-rig drivers did not have any type of driver’s license, according to U.S. Border Patrol.
The enforcement operation, dubbed Operation Checkmate, resulted in 52 arrests for immigration violations, including 36 people driving semi-trucks. The individuals are being processed for removal.
The crackdown in the Yuma Sector of Arizona follows fatal crashes involving Indian-origin drivers and tighter federal rules for issuing non-domiciled commercial drivers’ licenses to foreign drivers.
Federal authorities said 30 truck drivers were from India, while the remaining six were from Mexico, El Salvador, and Russia. Most subjects held Employment Authorization Documents issued during the Biden administration that are no longer valid.
“Operation Checkmate reflects our commitment to safeguarding communities and roads from unlawfully present drivers who pose significant risks to public safety,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector Dustin W. Caudle. “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.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Operation Checkmate ran between May 11-15 in Arizona. Of the 36 illegal semi-truck drivers arrested, 29 were in possession of commercial driver’s licenses from states such as California, New York, Washington and Virginia.
Officials said Operation Checkmate focused on enhancing public safety, specifically on “enforcement of immigration statutes aimed at the detection and arrest of illegal aliens operating commercial motor vehicles.”
Indiana officials also recently announced that nearly 300 illegal immigrants with commercial driver’s licenses were stopped at Indiana state weigh stations over the last three months.
The statewide operation found that most of the drivers were carrying commercial licenses issued by states including New York and California.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told The Statesman that India does not support illegal immigration and cooperates fully with the U.S. on deportation matters.
“Whenever cases of deportation are referred to us, we verify the nationality of the individuals concerned. Once their nationality is confirmed, they are deported, and we receive our nationals,” Jaiswal said.
After a series of traffic fatalities involving foreign semi-truck drivers, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule to stop unqualified and illegal immigrants from obtaining licenses to drive commercial trucks and buses.
“The Border Patrol is working together with federal partners to enforce the rule of law and restore integrity and safety to the nation’s transportation system,” Border Patrol said. “This will eliminate another magnet for people to illegally come to the U.S., and will strengthen the most secure border in 50 years.”
In a separate human smuggling case out of Texas, Border Patrol rescued 39 illegal migrants from a burning commercial tractor-trailer following a high-speed pursuit.
On June 4, the semi-truck driver refused to pull over for a secondary inspection at the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint north of Encino, Texas, when a K-9 unit alerted agents to the trailer.
The driver allegedly fled northbound on U.S. Highway 281 before turning back onto the southbound lanes. Texas state troopers deployed a vehicle immobilization device, but the suspect continued to drive on deflated tires for roughly 25 miles.
“Despite deflated tires, the suspect continued driving until the tractor caught fire,” U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jared Ashby said in a post on X.
Border Patrol agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were able to free the trapped migrants, who were locked in the tractor-trailer, moments before it caught on fire.
The pursuit ended six miles north of Linn in Hidalgo County and closed the southbound lanes of U.S. 281, one of the primary freight corridors connecting the Rio Grande Valley with the rest of Texas.
Two suspected human smugglers were taken into custody. The illegal migrants were medically screened for injuries and also detained by Border Patrol.
