Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivered a strong warning on Thursday, declaring that illegal migrants driving on U.S. roads will soon face severe consequences.
Speaking alongside Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Noem said the federal government is stepping up enforcement efforts to remove unlicensed and undocumented drivers from American highways.
“If you are here driving on our streets illegally and on our highways, you are endangering our citizens, and your days are numbered,” Noem said during the press conference held in Indiana.
The remarks came as part of an announcement regarding “Operation Midway Blitz,” a joint initiative launched last month in coordination with the state of Indiana. The operation was named in honor of Katie Abraham, an Illinois woman who was killed in a car accident involving an illegal migrant. Its main focus is on cracking down against illegal migrant drivers across Illinois—particularly in Chicago, which operates as a sanctuary city.
According to Noem, the partnership between federal and state authorities has already led to the arrest of more than 200 undocumented individuals driving illegally. “Through that partnership, 233 illegal aliens have been arrested and taken off our roads,” she stated. “Of those, 146 were drivers, including 46 semi-truck operators and 82 driving box trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles.”
She added that commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) held by those arrested were issued from more than a dozen states, exposing what she called a widespread issue of regulatory gaps.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also addressed concerns about how undocumented drivers have been able to obtain commercial driving credentials. He noted that following a recent federal audit, the Department of Transportation implemented new restrictions on non-domiciled commercial learner permits.
“Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL unless they meet a much stricter set of rules,” Duffy explained. These new requirements include having an employment-based visa and passing a federal immigration status check through the SAVE system.
The push for stricter enforcement follows a series of tragic incidents this month in which two illegal migrants driving commercial trucks caused fatal crashes, killing four people. Noem said these cases illustrate the deadly risks posed by unqualified and undocumented drivers on American roads.
“Every single time one of these individuals gets behind the wheel of a truck, they are in control of a deadly weapon that can kill other Americans,” she warned.
Officials emphasized that “Operation Midway Blitz” is just the beginning of a broader national effort to enhance road safety and hold illegal drivers accountable.
