US Border Patrol agents in California have arrested 30 Indian nationals who were living illegally in the United States and operating semitrucks using commercial driver’s licences, according to PTI.
Between November 23 and December 12, Border Patrol agents in the El Centro Sector apprehended 42 undocumented immigrants with commercial driver’s licences during interstate travel and at immigration checkpoints.
Overall, the enforcement action led to the arrest of 49 illegal immigrants holding commercial licences. Of these, 30 were Indian nationals, two were from El Salvador, while others hailed from China, Eritrea, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Russia, Somalia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
According to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 31 of the seized licences were issued by California. The remaining licences were issued by Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
On December 10 and 11, agents from the Indio Station participated in Operation Highway Sentinel, a two-day joint enforcement drive led by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations units in Ontario and Fontana, California.
The operation focused on commercial trucking companies and resulted in 45 arrests of undocumented individuals holding commercial licences.
During the operation, Indio personnel arrested one Indian and one Tajik national on the first day. On the second day, four Indian nationals and one Uzbek national were taken into custody, PTI reported.
CBP said Operation Highway Sentinel was launched following several fatal accidents involving semitrucks driven by undocumented individuals holding commercial licences.
The initiative aimed to enforce immigration laws, improve highway safety, and ensure compliance with commercial transportation regulations.
Commenting on the operation, El Centro Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Remenar said the arrests highlighted serious public safety risks.
He stated that the individuals detained should not have been operating semitrucks and criticised states that issued commercial licences to undocumented immigrants, linking such practices to recent fatal accidents.
Several recent cases have underscored these concerns. Rajinder Kumar, 32, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment after a semitruck collision killed two people.
In August, ICE lodged an arrest detainer against Harjinder Singh, who faces three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida. In the same month, Partap Singh caused a multi-vehicle crash in California that critically injured a five-year-old girl.
In October, ICE also filed a detainer against Jashanpreet Singh, who allegedly killed three people in California while driving an 18-wheeler under the influence.
According to PTI, these enforcement actions have renewed concerns over the issuance of commercial driver’s licences to undocumented immigrants and the potential safety risks they pose on US highways.