Border crackdown curbs cabotage violations by foreign truckers

Vehicles await entry into Mexico on the El Paso, Texas, side of the southern border. (Gigi_my_girl/Getty Images)

Border Patrol agents have blocked hundreds of drivers with cabotage violations from entering the U.S. through Mexico.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stepped up its stringent enforcement of federal cabotage laws this year following a renewed focus in 2025. There are 250 fewer Mexican carriers operating in U.S. commercial zones along the southern border as a federal cabotage crackdown has barred hundreds of Mexican truckers from crossing.

Drivers from Mexico and Canada can legally enter the United States on valid visas to transport cross-border freight, but they violate federal law if they stay to haul domestic loads, displacing work that would otherwise go to American truckers.

On Aug. 10, CBP El Paso sector agents in Las Cruces, N.M., arrested a Canadian truck driver for allegedly violating his non-immigrant visa and “conducting unauthorized domestic freight operations. The sector encompasses 11 stations overseeing 125,500 square miles and a 268-mile border with Mexico.

Stopped about 42 miles from the Santa Teresa Port of Entry that handles commercial vehicles, the Canadian was facing prosecution and subsequent deportation for allegedly hauling cargo on a 200-mile trip in New Mexico from Deming to Los Lunas.

Image

A Canadian truck driver is facing prosecution and subsequent deportation for allegedly hauling cargo on a 200-mile trip in New Mexico from Deming to Los Lunas. (U.S. Border Patrol via Facebook)

Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation started providing the Department of Homeland Security, including CBP agents, with FMCSA data on cabotage violations.

“For years, foreign carriers exploited enforcement gaps created by the previous administration to illegally haul freight within our borders, undercut American truckers and violate our laws. The era of looking the other way is over,” a DHS spokesperson noted at that time.

Access to electronic data

Border patrol agents now have electronic access to merged DOT records showing prior cabotage violations from roadside inspections, and agents are turning back these Mexican drivers from border crossings.

At the same time, border patrol stations in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have been enforcing cabotage rules as well as detaining foreign truckers lacking valid legal driving credentials and/or legal U.S. residence.

Other enforcement actions

In a related cabotage operation, El Paso border agents announced Aug. 6 the arrest of a Mexican trucker who was legally present in the U.S. using a non-immigrant visitor visa but apparently was found “violating the terms of his visa by working as a commercial truck driver.” U.S. Border Patrol released a photo of a stopped truck with a cabotage warning stating in part: “A visa is a privilege — know the rules.”

Image

A Mexican national legally present in the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visitor visa was arrested by El Paso Sector agents after violating the terms of his visa by working as a commercial truck driver. (U.S. Border Patrol via Facebook)

In another incident, Border Patrol agents from the Blythe station in California stopped a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van traveling along Interstate 40 near Needles.

They found an undocumented Brazilian national behind the wheel, who apparently entered the United States in July 2024 using a B1/B2 visa for tourism and business travel. The visa expired in January 2025.

“At the time of his arrest, he was operating as a hotshot driver for hire, transporting merchandise with a bill of lading for delivery from Florida to California,” CBP noted. “He overstayed his visa, remaining in the U.S. without valid immigration status or authorization to work.”

Image

Costello 

The unidentified driver was processed for deportation and the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector posted social media photos of the driver and the white Sprinter van. The trucking industry backs rigorous enforcement of cabotage violations.

Bob Costello, chief economist and senior vice president of international trade and security policy for American Trucking Associations, noted ATA supports federal efforts to enforce the law.

“There is an important distinction between lawful cross-border commerce and illegal domestic trucking operations. Foreign drivers operating under visas that do not authorize domestic trucking cannot be used to haul freight from one U.S. point to another,” Costello said. “Those operations violate the law and unfairly undercut American drivers and motor carriers that follow the rules.”