A multi-agency enforcement operation in Arizona’s Yuma Sector resulted in the arrest of 95 truck drivers earlier this month, as federal authorities stepped up efforts to disrupt drug and human-smuggling activity along the southern border.
According to Customs and Border Protection, all 95 drivers held state-issued commercial driver’s licenses. Seventy-six of those licenses were issued by California, while six came from New York. The remaining licenses were issued by several other states.
The arrests were part of a broader enforcement operation conducted from Aug. 10 through Aug. 14. Authorities said the operation also uncovered two separate human-smuggling incidents. Four suspected smugglers were arrested, along with 17 migrants who were allegedly being transported.
Agents also seized approximately 74 pounds of methamphetamine and 169 pounds of marijuana during the operation. Overall, authorities arrested 143 people from 18 countries.
The enforcement activity comes as federal agencies continue examining how commercial driving credentials were issued to foreign-domiciled drivers and whether state licensing systems properly verified eligibility.
Federal rules governing non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses have since become more restrictive. Under a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule that took effect March 16, 2026, eligibility for a non-domiciled commercial learner’s permit or CDL is limited to people in certain employment-based nonimmigrant statuses, including H-2A, H-2B and E-2 status.
The updated rules also ended the use of an Employment Authorization Document by itself as sufficient proof of eligibility for a non-domiciled CDL. States are required to verify qualifying lawful immigration status under the revised federal standards.
The federal government has been auditing state CDL practices as part of a broader effort to identify licenses that were issued outside federal requirements. The Transportation Department has also directed states to address noncompliant credentials and has taken action against states over failures involving non-domiciled commercial licenses.
The Yuma operation also comes amid continued federal enforcement against human-smuggling networks in Arizona. During the week of Aug. 8 through Aug. 14, federal prosecutors in Arizona filed immigration-related criminal cases involving 268 individuals, including cases involving alleged illegal reentry, unlawful entry and the smuggling of migrants.
For authorities working along the border, commercial vehicles remain an important area of concern because trucks can be used to move people or illegal drugs while traveling through established transportation corridors.
The latest arrests highlight the overlap between border enforcement and the federal government’s broader effort to tighten oversight of commercial truck licensing. With the new CDL requirements now in effect, federal and state agencies are continuing to review credentials and enforcement practices involving drivers who are not domiciled in the United States.
