Multi-Agency Sting Takes Down Massive Fraud Scandal

U.S. Customs and Border Protection led a massive crackdown on truck fraud in Arizona, resulting in 95 illegal immigrants being arrested. Most of the illegals had fake California CDL licenses, and many were trafficking drugs, weapons, and even humans.

As we travel our interstate system, the 18-wheeler next to you should be operated by someone who is properly trained, properly tested, and legally qualified to be behind the wheel. That seems like a fair expectation.

But according to the Trump Administration, fraudulent CDLs have become a serious problem. And the Department of Transportation (DOT), along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has initiated a major crackdown.

As reported by The Hill:

In a release, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said it is shutting down the schools after they issued driver’s licenses to more than 5,000 individuals who failed ELP exams.

The department is also launching a nationwide audit of third-party commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills testers and states’ oversight of those testers, the release noted.

To receive a CDL to operate large and heavy vehicles, drivers must display a “higher level of knowledge, experience, skills, and physical abilities than that required to drive a non-commercial vehicle,” according to the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

President Trump signed an executive order in April 2025 requiring commercial truck drivers in the U.S. to be proficient in English. That same month, Duffy issued new guidance to rescind the Obama administration’s removal of ELP requirements for commercial vehicle drivers. . . .

As part of a probe into the ELP of commercial drivers, the FMCSA reviewed roadside inspection records for commercial drivers who were cited for not meeting the language standards and compared those drivers with records in the Training Provider Registry.

By doing so, the motor safety agency identified training providers that “repeatedly certified drivers who did not meet federal qualification standards,” per Monday’s DOT release.

The FMCSA will now execute the emergency removal of the more than 110 providers from the registry, meaning they must “immediately cease all operations as a training provider, including administering curricula, utilizing facilities for instruction, and conducting behind-the-wheel training.”

As a result of its investigation, the FMCSA is also proposing to shut down 160-plus additional driving schools it accuses of not complying with the language requirement regulations.

Duffy said in the release his department “has spent the last year-and-a-half strengthening the rules of the road and removing dangerous foreign drivers” from the American trucking industry. . . .

“From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain.”

The DOT is shutting down 270 commercial driving schools across the country – 110 of which were identified as the worst offenders for violations involving English-language proficiency and improper CDL testing. The other 160 reportedly failed to meet basic requirements, including having the proper facilities or qualified instructors to conduct the training and testing.

As Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explained, drivers have to speak English to operate a commercial motor vehicle. That isn’t some new rule created by President Trump. The English-proficiency requirement has been on the books for decades. The problem is that some driving schools knew the rules and passed people anyway. Earlier this month, a multi-agency operation in Arizona’s Yuma sector resulted in the arrest of 95 illegal immigrants who were working as truck drivers and had obtained state-issued CDLs. Seventy-six of those licenses came from California, six from New York, and the remainder came from other states.

The standards for getting behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler need to mean something and must be enforced.

If someone can’t meet those standards, there is no justification for them to be passed through. And, at the very least, a school that ignored the rules shouldn’t be allowed to remain in business.

Not to mention the national-security component here. A CDL can provide access to transportation networks that can potentially be exploited for other criminal activity, including human trafficking and drug trafficking.

The Trump Administration is trying to make sure the person operating that 18-wheeler has the training, qualifications, and legal authorization to be doing so.

And as Secretary Duffy posted earlier: “THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.”

That certainly sounds like a much broader effort to identify and shut down the systems that have allowed fraudulent CDLs to be issued may be coming.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more discussion of this latest initiative by the DOT and DHS to crack down on illegal drivers and keep our roads and highways safer. 

Watch the full broadcast below: