About 125 commercial vehicle drivers, including some accused of being in the country illegally, were arrested during a three-day joint law enforcement blitz along Interstate 40, the Governor’s Office said Monday.
Last week’s arrests were part of “a targeted enforcement action” involving the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The enforcement effort focused on motorists who have been issued a commercial driver’s license and trucks licensed and registered in California, the Corporation Commission said in a press release.
California is one of 19 states that will issue licenses regardless of immigration status.
The arrests were for “various violations,” the agency said.
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office said immigrants in the country without legal status were arrested. They came from several countries, including India, China, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol would not comment on the enforcement operation, nicknamed Operation Guardian, on Monday. Officials with ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
Stitt’s office said the Oklahoma Highway Patrol encountered numerous truck drivers with licenses issued by “sanctuary states” that have policies rebuffing federal immigration enforcement.
Stitt released a copy of what appeared to be a New York-issued REAL ID commercial driver’s license that listed “No Name Given” as a licensee’s legal name.
“If New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them,” Stitt said. “The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”
Stitt said it is a safety issue to operate “commercial vehicles without proper verification.”
“Oklahomans deserve safe highways,” said Oklahoma Corporation Chair Kim David. “We appreciate the opportunity to assist ICE and DPS Troop S by removing non-compliant and dangerous drivers from our roads. By working together as law enforcement partners, we’re reducing risks for every driver.”
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission staffs the ports of entry, while the Department of Public Safety does the inspections, said Trey Davis, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The state’s five ports of entry are designed to ensure proper registration, operation, permitting and weight limits for commercial trucks. In fiscal year 2025, more than 5.6 million trucks entered on a highway intersecting one of its ports of entry, which are also located along Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 69.
“Our officers’ professionalism, training and use of technology quickly assess each driver and rig to resolve permitting concerns, issue a ticket with an associated fine, or require the driver to pull over and submit to further inspection of their credentials or truck,” said Commissioner Todd Hiett.
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