About 130 commercial truck drivers, including 28 illegal immigrants from Punjab, India, were arrested during a three-day joint law enforcement operation along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma, the Governor’s Office announced.
Authorities said the crackdown targeted drivers holding commercial licences and trucks registered in California, one of 19 states issuing licences regardless of immigration status.
Governor Kevin Stitt said many of those detained were in the United States illegally and came from countries including India, China, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Stitt also highlighted concerns over licences issued by so-called “sanctuary states,” citing one New York-issued commercial driver’s licence that listed “No Name Given” as the licensee.
“If New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them. The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”
Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chair Kim David said the crackdown was a safety measure.
“Oklahomans deserve safe highways. By removing non-compliant and dangerous drivers, we’re reducing risks for every driver.”
The state’s ports of entry, staffed by the Corporation Commission and the Department of Public Safety, are designed to inspect commercial trucks for proper registration, permits, and weight compliance. In fiscal year 2025, more than 5.6 million trucks passed through these checkpoints. Commissioner Todd Hiett said,
“Our officers’ professionalism, training, and use of technology allow us to quickly assess each driver and rig, resolving permitting concerns, issuing fines, or requiring further inspections when needed.”
Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton told media, “A quarter of the people that we came into contact with didn’t have legal status to be here.” Most undocumented immigrants came from over 18 countries and entered the U.S. through the southern border. He explained,
“Allowing [troopers] to do this cross-commissioning or credentialing process… we now have a way to take enforcement action.”
Approximately 90 of those arrested were commercial truck drivers, with vehicles impounded at local storage yards. Drivers held commercial licences issued in multiple states, including California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Tipton said trucking companies can recover vehicles by paying towing and storage fees.
The sweep is part of an ongoing crackdown on immigration, with the Trump administration reviewing cases of illegal asylum seekers. Tipton added:
“Now that we have an administration in place that will let us apply the law, this absolutely will be a sustained model.”
The operation, dubbed Operation Guardian, involved the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
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