LOS ANGELES, Dec 24 — U.S. Border Patrol agents in California have arrested 30 Indian nationals living illegally in the United States who were operating semitrucks using commercial driver’s licenses, authorities said.
The arrests were part of a broader enforcement effort in which agents detained 49 undocumented immigrants holding commercial driver’s licenses during vehicle stops at immigration checkpoints and joint operations with other agencies, according to a statement issued last week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Between Nov. 23 and Dec. 12, Border Patrol agents in the El Centro Sector apprehended 42 undocumented individuals driving semitrucks on interstates or passing through immigration checkpoints.
Of those arrested, 30 were from India, while others were from China, Eritrea, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Russia, Somalia, Turkey, Ukraine, and El Salvador, CBP said.
California issued 31 of the commercial driver’s licenses, while the remaining licenses were issued by Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, the agency said.
In addition, agents from the Indio Station took part in Operation Highway Sentinel, a two-day joint enforcement operation conducted on Dec. 10 and 11 and led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Ontario and Fontana.
The operation resulted in 45 additional arrests of undocumented individuals holding commercial driver’s licenses. Indio agents apprehended one Indian national and one Tajik national on the first day, followed by four Indian nationals and one Uzbek national on the second day.
“The individuals arrested should never have been operating these semitrucks,” said Joseph Remenar, acting chief patrol agent for the El Centro Sector. “The states issuing them commercial driver’s licenses are directly responsible for the fatal accidents we have tragically witnessed recently.”
CBP said the operation focused on commercial trucking companies after a series of deadly crashes involving undocumented drivers operating heavy vehicles.
