NEW YORK, Dec 24: US Border Patrol agents detained 30 Indian nationals living illegally in America while operating commercial semitrucks, as part of a broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants with commercial driver’s licenses.
Between November 23 and December 12, El Centro Sector agents in California arrested 49 illegal immigrants with commercial licenses during checkpoint stops and interagency operations, with 42 apprehended while driving semitrucks on interstates. Of those arrested, 30 were Indian nationals, while others came from El Salvador, China, Eritrea, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Russia, Somalia, Turkey, and Ukraine. California issued 31 of these commercial licenses, with the remaining eight from Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
On December 10-11, agents participated in Operation Highway Sentinel, a joint enforcement operation led by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Ontario and Fontana, California, resulting in 45 arrests. Indio Station agents apprehended seven individuals over two days, including five Indian nationals and one each from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The operation targeted commercial trucking companies after fatal accidents involving illegal immigrants with commercial licenses.
Multiple deadly crashes involved Indian nationals driving trucks illegally, including Rajinder Kumar charged with criminally negligent homicide after killing two people, Harjinder Singh arrested for three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida, Partap Singh causing a multi-car pileup that critically injured 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman, and Jashanpreet Singh killing three while driving under the influence.
“The individuals arrested should never have been operating these semitrucks, and the states issuing them commercial driver’s licenses are directly responsible for the fatal accidents we have tragically witnessed,” said El Centro Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Remenar, emphasizing public safety priorities.
