By admin 
YUMA (AZFamily) — U.S. Border Patrol in the Yuma Sector says agents arrested 52 undocumented individuals during an enforcement effort called “Operation Checkmate,” including 36 people who were driving semi-trucks.
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Border Patrol says all 52 individuals will be processed under federal law and then deported.
According to Border Patrol, 29 of the semi-truck drivers arrested during the operation had commercial driver’s licenses issued in states including California, New York, Washington, and Virginia. Border Patrol says three of the drivers did not have a driver’s license at all.
Border Patrol also told Gray Media that agents frequently arrest commercial unlicensed drivers across Arizona, particularly along freeways and roads entering Maricopa County.
“We were enforcing immigration law which is what we do in specific areas in and out of Arizona,” a Border Patrol spokesperson said.
CBP says some of the drivers arrested had Employment Authorization Documents obtained during the Biden administration that are no longer valid.
The arrests come as Arizona Sen. Frank Carroll pushes a bill he says would bar people in the country illegally from operating commercial vehicles in Arizona.
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“That is in the House right now, we wait for it to complete its process — we aren’t done with our sessions, there is still time,” Carroll said.
Carroll’s proposal would allow law enforcement to require proof of lawful presence during a stop and to impound a truck if a driver cannot demonstrate legal status. Carroll says his concerns include road safety, liability, and language barriers, and he believes the bill could help prevent deadly crashes.
Gray Media also reached out to the President and CEO of the Arizona Trucking Association for comment. In a statement, the association said in part: “The safety of Arizona’s highways depends on every commercial driver being fully qualified, properly licensed, and able to communicate in English with law enforcement and the traveling public.”
Carroll’s bill is moving forward as President Donald Trump’s administration continues its crackdown on immigrant truck drivers. Carroll says that the effort has led to 200,000 immigrants losing their CDLs earlier this year.
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