CBP Arrests 95 Illegal-Alien Truckers in Arizona; Most Held California CDLs

U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector arrested 95 illegal-alien commercial drivers during an Aug. 10–14 operation, CBP told Fox News Digital. All 95 held state-issued commercial driver’s licenses: 76 from California, six from New York, and the rest from a handful of other states. Agents took 143 suspects from 18 countries into custody in the same sweep, seized 74 pounds of methamphetamine and 169 pounds of marijuana, and disrupted two human-smuggling events. Acting Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle said the sector is “committed to protecting our citizens from all international threats, whether that is from unlicensed or untrained drivers, or transnational criminal organizations engaged in human or drug trafficking.” Those arrested were processed under federal immigration law.

Yuma Sector covers desert highways that carry freight off the California–Arizona border, including stretches of Interstates 8, 10, and 40. The August arrests follow a May 11–15 Yuma operation, Operation Checkmate, in which agents arrested 52 people unlawfully present, 36 of them driving semis. Of those 36, CBP said 29 held CDLs from California, New York, Washington, or Virginia, three had no license, 30 were Indian nationals, and most carried Employment Authorization Documents issued in the prior administration that CBP said were no longer valid. Caudle said that earlier sweep was aimed at “unlawfully present drivers who pose significant risks to public safety.” Nationwide, CBP reported southwest border encounters falling from more than 144,000 in December 2024 to about 33,000 in July 2026.

The Department of Transportation’s final rule on non-domiciled CDLs took effect March 16. It limits new and renewed non-domiciled commercial licenses and learner’s permits to holders of H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visas, requires SAVE checks, and drops Employment Authorization Documents as proof of eligibility. DOT has withheld highway funds from California and New York after audits found large shares of reviewed non-domiciled CDLs out of compliance; New York was ordered to review tens of thousands of those licenses. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin have tied the CDL crackdown to fatal crashes involving drivers who, officials said, should not have held commercial licenses. A separate midsummer Operation Highway Shield wave in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio detained 51 illegal immigrants, including 21 with California or New York non-domiciled CDLs. The August Yuma numbers put California-issued cards on most of the 95 drivers CBP identified as illegal aliens operating commercial trucks on those Arizona corridors.