More than 800 “dangerous” truckers have been removed from the nation’s roadways as part of the Operation Highway Shield initiative, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday.
Mullin said the efforts are part of the second wave of the Trump administration's initiative.
Federal and state law enforcement agencies conducted the roadside enforcement operation targeting unvetted drivers and unsafe commercial vehicles from July 28 to 30 in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio.
The operation resulted in the detention of 51 illegal immigrants, including 21 commercial drivers with non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) from California and New York. Officers placed 766 drivers and vehicles out of service for safety violations, arrested 86 operators for dangerous offenses, issued 36 citations for failing English language proficiency requirements, and recovered nearly $1 million in stolen cargo.
In its first wave conducted in March, the Trump administration said that Operation Highway Shield conducted more than 3,300 inspections in Florida, which resulted in 176 drivers being taken out of service, 54 of whom were taken out of service for language deficiencies. Additionally, 35 individuals were arrested on criminal-related charges, and 42 individuals were taken into custody for violating federal immigration laws.
Since Trump's April 2025 Executive Order aimed at restoring integrity to the trucking industry, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has overseen enforcement actions that removed 26,000 commercial drivers from service for failing English language requirements, shut down 8,000 noncompliant driving schools, and revoked more than 30,000 commercial driver's licenses that were reportedly issued illegally to unvetted foreign drivers.
A deadly August 2025 crash on the Florida turnpike was one of the high-profile incidents that prompted concerns about the safety of Americans on the nation’s roadways. The driver of an 18-wheeler allegedly made an illegal U-turn through a highway median, causing its trailer to collide with a minivan.
Three people were killed in the crash. Federal investigators said the driver had entered the United States unlawfully and that questions arose about the issuance of the driver's CDL. The crash became a central example cited by the Trump administration in support of stricter CDL and immigration enforcement.
In another incident in October 2025, a semi-truck driver accused of driving under the influence crashed into multiple vehicles in California, killing three people and injuring others. Federal officials and lawmakers stated the driver was in the U.S. illegally and subject to an immigration detainer. The case prompted more debates over the lack of CDL oversight.