New task force created to improve road safety after fatal crashes involving illegal immigrants
the Trump administration has launched a meaningful campaign to combat fraud and improve safety in the trucking industry, particularly focusing on illegal immigrant truck drivers. A new joint task force, called Crossroads of America, brings together federal, state, and local agencies to strengthen border security and reduce highway fatalities caused by unqualified or illegal drivers. Under this initiative, efforts include conducting large-scale sweeps to identify unsafe drivers, auditing CDL training schools, and preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses-many of whom lack English proficiency and road safety knowledge. Officials emphasize that these actions aim to prevent tragic crashes linked to illegal drivers and to root out fraudulent practices within the industry. The initiative is part of broader measures to secure highways, protect American lives, and eliminate fraud, with high-level endorsements highlighting a determination to prioritize public safety and law enforcement in transportation.
The Trump administration is taking massive steps to “crackdown on fraud” in the country’s trucking industry. It announced the creation of a new task force responsible for protecting commuters on the nation’s roadways by striving to reduce highway injuries and fatalities, specifically those caused by illegal immigrant truck drivers.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America on Monday. They were joined by Angel Family members, a victim of a crash with an illegal immigrant, Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs, White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Vice Chairman Andrew Ferguson, and multiple U.S. attorneys in announcing the new task force. It comes after repeated instances of the involvement of illegal immigrant truck drivers in fatal crashes throughout the country.
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“Thanks to the recklessness of sanctuary politicians, there is a growing and alarming trend of illegal aliens being granted commercial driver’s licenses. Many of them don’t speak English or understand the rules of the road, and yet they’re driving among us, endangering our loved ones,” said Mullin. “As a result, far too many Americans have lost their lives because an illegal alien was behind the wheel.”
“Under the strong leadership of President Trump, DHS and ICE are delivering on our mission to protect Americans by taking these dangerous threats OFF our roadways and getting them OUT of our country,” said Mullin. “Additionally, our partnership with the Department of Transportation will help root out CDL fraud so that illegal aliens are no longer able to obtain CDLs and put American lives at risk. The Trump Administration will ALWAYS put the American people first.”
In 2025, there were a reported 30 deaths from collisions with illegal immigrant truck drivers. DHS and DOT conducted Operation Highway Shield between July 28 and July 30 to remove 766 truck drivers who were deemed unsafe, the Washington Examiner previously reported. Of those truck drivers, 51 were illegal immigrants, with 36 failing tests for proficiency in the English language.
“Every life lost from an illegal trucker behind the wheel of a big rig is a completely preventable tragedy – and this administration will not stand for it,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement at the time. “Our new partnership with DHS builds on President Trump’s progress to secure our roads, eliminate fraud, and restore the integrity of trucking in America.”
The Joint Task Force Crossroads of America is a collaborative effort between federal, state, and local government agencies and a “multi-state partnership” to strengthen border security and ensure the nation’s highways are secure. It will “target criminal networks and fraud to reduce highway fatalities and protect Americans.”
“I am so grateful for President Trump’s leadership in recognizing the urgency of the moment and coordinating this unprecedented crackdown,” said Duffy. “From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain.”
The Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, and Department of Homeland Security will work together to achieve these objectives. Each agency will be tasked with certain responsibilities, including the DHS initiating a “synchronized single-day sweep targeting more than 200 training schools across 23 states,” the DOT “launching a nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers and states’ oversight of the testers,” and the DOJ spearheading the formation of the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America.
Other responsibilities include the DOT removing “110 commercial driver’s license (CDL) schools associated with more than 5,000 drivers who failed English language proficiency tests,” with ICE and Homeland Security Investigations also assisting in those investigations and other “CDL-related businesses and schools.”
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“This unprecedented interagency campaign represents the Trump administration’s most aggressive effort in history to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in trucking,” read a press release issued by DHS. “By aligning regulatory authorities with federal law enforcement operations, the administration is taking aggressive action to safeguard American roads against unqualified and unvetted illegal truckers.”
Attorney General Todd Blanche lauded the creation of the task force and predicted it would be a valuable asset in detecting fraud in the nation’s trucking industry. He also said it would go a long way to making the country’s roadways safer for everyone.
“The safety of American roadways affects everyone across the country,” said Blanche. “Foreigners and illegal aliens have exploited America’s trucking industry, often putting unqualified, improperly trained, non-English speaking drivers on our highways. Some may be hauling drugs or weapons for international crime networks.”
“The drivers and companies that allow for this dangerous activity will no longer get a pass,” added Blanche.
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