30 Indians arrested for driving trucks without valid licences in California
CHANDIGARH: Some 30 Indian nationals living illegally in the United States have been arrested in California after being found driving semi-trucks using commercial drivers licenses, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The arrests were made by Border Patrol agents in the El Centro Sector during immigration checkpoint stops and joint enforcement operations over the past few weeks. CBP said 49 undocumented immigrants holding commercial drivers licenses were arrested between November 23 and December 12. Thirty of those were Indian nationals. Authorities said most of the licenses were issued by US states. California accounted for 31 of the commercial drivers licenses involved, while others were issued by states such as Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. CBP said the operation was launched following several fatal highway accidents involving undocumented drivers operating semi-trucks. In recent months, multiple Indian nationals have been arrested in connection with deadly crashes. In August, Harjinder Singh was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida. That same month, Partap Singh was arrested after a multi-vehicle pileup in California. In October, Jashanpreet Singh was arrested following a crash that killed three US citizens. In another case, Rajinder Kumar was charged with criminally negligent homicide after two people died in a collision involving his truck. Remenar said individuals without legal status should never have been operating these semitrucks, and blamed states that issued the licenses for putting lives at risk. El Centro Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Remenar said the arrests highlight the expanding role of Border Patrol agents away from the border. He noted that since the start of Fiscal Year 2026, arrests made in the interior of the country have exceeded those made at the border. Our agents are protecting the country both at the border and well inside the United States, Part of the arrests came during Operation Highway Sentinel, a two-day joint enforcement effort held on December 10 and 11 in Ontario and Fontana, California. The operation was led by US Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and focused on commercial trucking companies. During the operation, 45 undocumented immigrants with commercial drivers licenses were arrested. Indio Station agents made seven of those arrests, including five Indian nationals. Meanwhile, CBP reported a sharp decline in illegal border crossings in the San Diego Sector.
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