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Dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, the crackdown focused on areas where criminal illegal aliens with histories of DUI convictions, drug trafficking, assault, child abuse, domestic battery, prostitution, and fraud were behind the wheel. More than 40 had received commercial driver’s licenses — licenses they had no business holding.
Where those licenses came from tells the full story. Sanctuary states like Illinois, California, and New York consistently put political ideology above public safety. Federal audits reveal that over half of non-domiciled CDLs in New York were issued illegally, while California improperly issued a quarter of reviewed licenses. Some of these credentials were still valid years after the driver’s legal status had expired.
One Brazilian national in California even received a CDL allowing him to drive school buses and passenger vehicles — months after his legal presence in the U.S. had ended. Imagine that: an illegal alien driving children to school because politicians prioritized sanctuary policies over safety.
Improper license issuance wasn’t isolated. Audits identified issues in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. In response, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that states failing to address audit findings risk losing federal highway funds — New York faces $73 million, California $160 million, Texas $182 million, and Minnesota $30 million.
The Human Cost of Sanctuary State Policies
The tragic consequences of these policies are clear. In August, Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien, made a dangerous U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike, blocking northbound lanes. A minivan crashed into him, killing three Americans instantly. Florida officials revealed Singh had failed his CDL written exam 10 times and couldn’t read road signs, yet California issued him a commercial license anyway.
Weeks later, Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old illegal alien from India, ran his truck into slow-moving traffic on California’s I-10 Freeway while intoxicated, killing three more Americans, including Pomona High School basketball coach Clarence Nelson and his wife Lisa. He had been released into the interior by the Biden administration after being encountered by Border Patrol in 2022 — then sanctuary states handed him control of an 80,000-pound vehicle.
ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons criticized these failures bluntly: “In recent weeks, we have seen illegal semi-truck drivers responsible for significant loss of life across the country. This was preventable, and that is precisely why we are working to ensure this doesn’t happen in Indiana or Illinois.”
The Trump administration estimates that as many as 130,000 undocumented truck drivers may currently operate in the U.S., with tens of thousands obtaining licenses illegitimately. Between 2000 and 2021, foreign-born truck drivers more than doubled, with California, New Jersey, Florida, and New York hosting particularly high proportions.
Sanctuary States Created This Nightmare
The issue is not immigration itself — it’s sanctuary states issuing CDLs to people who cannot legally drive commercial vehicles, don’t speak English, and can’t read road signs. New York even issued a CDL to an illegal alien identified as “No Name Given Anmol.”
This isn’t compassion; it’s political posturing that endangers Americans. ICE expanded enforcement to Oklahoma, arresting 70 illegal aliens, including 34 truck drivers, some unlicensed entirely.
By removing these drivers from the roads, the Trump administration is preventing potential disasters. Sanctuary states, however, fight back — California is suing the federal government to restore withheld transportation funds, proving that their priorities remain politics over public safety.
Trump’s Transportation Secretary is clear: no compliance, no funding. American lives are at stake, and every illegal truck driver removed from highways is a tragedy avoided. The time to protect the public is now — before the next preventable death occurs.
