CBP Agents Join CDL Enforcement Efforts in Southern California Operation
U.S. Border Patrol agents have taken a direct role in a recent enforcement effort involving commercial driver’s licenses, joining with federal investigators in a two-day operation in Southern California that resulted in the arrest of 45 immigrant drivers.
According to comments provided to Transport Topics, CBP spokesman Rick Pauza said, “U.S. Border Patrol is committed to identifying and apprehending any subjects who are in the United States illegally.”
El Centro Sector agents participated alongside agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit during the two-day dragnet in Ontario and Fontana, Calif. Authorities said the operation led to the arrest of 45 drivers who were holding CDLs but lacking legal residency.
For working drivers, the development matters because it signals more direct involvement by Border Patrol in enforcement actions that touch the trucking workforce, even away from the immediate border area. It also highlights that CDL status and immigration status can be examined separately in enforcement settings.
The U.S. Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency under U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency’s stated mission, as posted on its website as of 2022, is to “Protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation’s economic prosperity.”