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CBP’s ‘Operation Checkmate’ Nets 36 Undocumented Truckers
Agency Says 3 Lacked Any Form of Driver’s License; 29 Held State CDLs During May 11-15 Sweep
Key Takeaways:
- U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector arrested 36 truckers accused of being in the country illegally during Operation Checkmate May 11-15.
- CBP said 29 held state-issued commercial driver licenses, three lacked any license and most had invalid Employment Authorization Documents.
- CBP said those arrested were processed under federal law and will be deported.
U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector arrested 36 truckers accused of being in the country illegally during a special desert-area operation, including three who lacked any form of driver’s license.
The blitz was conducted in a barren desert area favored by smugglers of people and drugs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents patrol 126 miles along the Mexican border between the Yuma-Pima County line in Arizona and California’s desolate Imperial Sand Dunes.
The foreign truckers were detained among 52 people accused of being in the U.S. illegally during a May 11-15 crackdown called “Operation Checkmate.” It was spearheaded by Yuma Sector, which has two Arizona stations, in Yuma and Wellton, and one in Blythe, Calif.
“My agents are on patrol every day to ensure we stop these individuals and prevent more deadly crashes from occurring on the road across the United States,” said Dustin Caudle, acting chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector.
Of the undocumented truckers arrested during the operation, 30 are from India and six are foreign nationals from El Salvador, Mexico and Russia.
According to CBP, Operation Checkmate focused on detecting and arresting “illegal aliens operating commercial motor vehicles” by enforcing U.S. immigration laws. The Yuma Sector is responsible for 181,670 square miles of mostly rugged desert in California and Arizona.
RELATED: CBP Agents Enter Nation's CDL Enforcement Efforts
Of the 36 truckers arrested, 29 held commercial driver licenses from states including California, New York, Virginia and Washington.
“Three did not possess any form of driver’s license,” CBP noted. “Most subjects possessed Employment Authorization Documents, which were obtained during the Biden administration and are no longer valid.”
Those arrested were processed according to federal law and will be deported, CBP added.
“Operation Checkmate reflects our commitment to safeguarding communities and roads from unlawfully present drivers who pose significant risks to public safety,” Caudle said.
In a related bust on April 11, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents from the Wellton Station arrested a trucker from India who “was driving a semi-truck with a handwritten piece of paper as a makeshift license plate,” CBP stated.
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One trucker “was driving a semi-truck with a handwritten piece of paper as a makeshift license plate,” CBP stated. (US Border Patrol Yuma Sector via Facebook)
The driver also held a California-issued Class A limited-term CDL bearing “No Name Given” instead of a first name. The CDL shown on CBP social media listed the driver’s surname as “Gagan.”
The limited-term CDL is a non-domiciled type that California can no longer issue due to noncompliance issues identified in an audit last year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Although the trucker was initially charged with being in the U.S. illegally, agents reportedly discovered “child sexual abuse material” on the man’s cellphone and turned him over to Homeland Security Investigations in the Yuma Office to face criminal charges.
“The U.S. Border Patrol and HSI are committed to combating child exploitation and safeguarding our communities,” CBP emphasized.
