Federal authorities are expanding a nationwide crackdown on commercial trucking violations after a three-day enforcement operation across four Midwestern states produced 86 arrests, 766 out-of-service orders and nearly $1 million in recovered stolen cargo.
Operation Highway Shield moved through Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio from July 28 through July 30, combining federal transportation and homeland security personnel with state highway patrol agencies. Inspectors targeted commercial driver qualifications, vehicle safety violations, licensing irregularities and suspected criminal activity along major freight routes.
The operation resulted in 86 commercial operators being arrested for criminal or dangerous conduct. Federal authorities also detained 51 immigrants, including 21 drivers carrying non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses issued by California or New York. Inspectors documented 36 English-language proficiency violations while placing a combined 766 drivers and commercial vehicles out of service.
Those enforcement numbers are now part of a considerably larger federal campaign reaching into commercial driving schools, testing facilities, trucking companies and state licensing programs across the country.
More than 28,000 commercial drivers have been placed out of service for English-language proficiency violations since June 2025, according to federal transportation officials. Commercial drivers operating under federal regulations are required to possess sufficient English proficiency to understand road signs, communicate with law enforcement and transportation officials and complete required records.
Federal investigators have also moved deeper into the commercial driver training system. More than 8,000 training providers have been removed from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s national registry after federal authorities determined they failed to meet requirements for participating in the commercial driver training program.
Investigators were dispatched across 40 states to examine hundreds of entry-level driver training providers. The federal review uncovered problems ranging from inadequate facilities and missing training records to instructors without appropriate qualifications and deficiencies involving required driving assessments.
Commercial driver licensing has emerged as another major component of the enforcement campaign. Federal officials reported August 31 that states have been required to cancel more than 30,000 commercial driver’s licenses determined to have been improperly issued to foreign drivers.
Authorities are also examining third-party organizations that conduct commercial driving skills tests and the state agencies responsible for overseeing those examinations. The federal review is intended to determine whether applicants were properly tested and whether commercial licenses were issued in accordance with federal requirements.
The enforcement effort expanded further August 31 when Homeland Security Investigations conducted coordinated operations involving more than 200 driving schools across 23 jurisdictions. Investigators are examining driving schools, trucking companies, employers and other businesses connected to commercial licensing and employment.
More than 1,000 investigative leads involving CDL-related businesses have been distributed for further investigation. Federal authorities are examining suspected fraudulent licensing, falsified documentation, identity fraud, unauthorized employment, improper medical certifications and financial crimes connected to commercial transportation operations.
The Department of Justice has joined the campaign through a coordinated task force involving federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies. The investigation now reaches from roadside inspections to the institutions responsible for training, testing and licensing commercial drivers.
Operation Highway Shield provided some of the most visible results of that enforcement push, but federal activity has continued well beyond the three-day Midwest sweep. Transportation and law enforcement agencies are pursuing licensing audits, training-school investigations, roadside inspections and criminal cases as the federal government works through thousands of commercial driver records and businesses connected to the nation’s trucking industry.
With more than 28,000 drivers already removed from service for English-language violations, more than 30,000 improperly issued commercial licenses ordered canceled and thousands of training providers removed from the federal registry, the enforcement campaign has grown into a nationwide examination of who is operating commercial trucks and whether the systems responsible for qualifying those drivers are meeting federal standards.