Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday that 31 illegal immigrant truck drivers—many holding commercial driver’s licenses issued in California—were apprehended along I‑40 during a one‑day enforcement sweep by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and federal partners. The joint operation targeted suspicious CDLs and unsafe vehicles, underscoring Abbott’s warning that California’s practice of licensing illegal immigrants poses risks to motorists nationwide.
“Millions of Texans drive on our highways, roads, and streets every day,” said Governor Abbott. “When illegal immigrants break the law and illegally drive on our roads, they endanger the lives of countless Texans and Americans. This joint state and federal operation along one of the nation’s longest transcontinental highways removed illegal drivers and unsafe vehicles from Texas roads. While liberal states like California issue licenses to illegal immigrants and risk the lives of Americans, Texas will work with our federal partners to maintain safe roads and apprehend illegal immigrants to protect our communities.”
The Veteran’s Day operation took place along Interstate 40 in the Texas Panhandle, Abbott’s office revealed. The operation focused on improving highway safety by “identifying individuals with suspicious commercial driver licenses (CDL).” DPS troopers teamed up with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and agents, along with inspectors from the Federal Motor Coach Safety Administration, to identify illegal alien truckers.
The team conducted 105 vehicle inspections during the single-day operation in Wheeler County, Texas. The governor’s office stated that they identified 31 drivers with CDLs who were unlawfully present in the United States. Troopers revealed that the sanctuary state of California issued the majority of the CDLs carried by the illegal aliens.
“None were issued in Texas,” the governor’s staff concluded.
In September, Governor Abbott ordered the Department of Public Safety to “Strictly Enforce English Proficiency Requirements for Commercial Drivers,” Breitbart Texas reported. The order followed coverage by Breitbart Texas of the Lone Star State, leading the nation in having truck drivers removed from service for not being proficient in English.
On September 1, Breitbart Texas reported that Texas led the nation, by a large percentage, of commercial driver’s license holders receiving “out of service” orders for not being proficient in reading and speaking English. Governor Abbott’s spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris, responded to an inquiry from Breitbart, saying, “Governor Abbott expects trucking companies in Texas to fully comply with President Trump’s Executive Order. Public safety is priority #1, and we must ensure that truckers are able to navigate Texas roadways safely and efficiently.”
Mahaleris referred to a presidential executive order issued by President Donald Trump in May, which called for truck drivers with commercial licenses to be proficient in English.
On Thursday morning, Abbott stated, “Today, I am directing DPS to enact zero-tolerance enforcement of these federal safety regulations across the board—whether drivers are operating across state lines or only within Texas. This approach will keep Texans safe while keeping our economy moving.”
Americant Truckers United Spokesman Shannon Everett reacted to the governor’s announcement, saying:
Our team was confident that when the right people heard this message, it would be a simple decision to do the right thing. Thank you, Governor Abbott, for not only keeping Texas safe, but also for implementing a policy that has the potential to improve highway safety across the nation if properly enforced.
Breitbart News has reported extensively on the issue of significant, often fatal, crashes involving truck drivers who cannot pass English proficiency examinations.
American Truckers United posted, “Texas is largely responsible for the truck drivers that don’t speak English on America’s roadways. They are predominantly originating from the state of Texas.”
“The trucking industry in Texas is prioritizing cheap labor by favoring non-citizens over American citizens, compromising safety nationwide,” American Truckers United Spokesman Shannon Everett told Breitbart Texas on Monday. “What starts as a Texas issue becomes a national crisis when drivers from these companies—failing English proficiency standards—are exported across America, demanding urgent intervention.”
Two recent fatal crashes involving foreign commercial driver’s license holders brought the issue to the forefront.
In June, Breitbart’s Warner Todd Huston reported that a Cuban migrant was arrested and charged with five counts of manslaughter after he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into a traffic jam of trucks and cars on Interstate 20 near Wills Point, Texas. The article notes that Sara Fields claimed Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni did not speak English. That claim was not substantiated in the police investigation.
This crash followed on the tail of another fatal crash near Austin, where Solomun Weldekeal-Araya was also arrested and charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter, Fox 7 in Austin reported.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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