TheDepartment of Homeland Security on Monday announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested a "wanted terrorist" and a "criminal illegal alien" from Uzbekistan who was working as a commercial truck driver and held a Pennsylvania CDL.
ICE arrested 31-year-old Akhror Bozorov on November 9 in Kansas. DHS said Bozorov was "wanted in his origin country for belonging to a terrorist organization."
Authorities in Uzbekistan "issued an arrest warrant for Bozorov in 2022 for being a member of a terrorist organization," DHS said. "He is accused of distributing terrorist propaganda calling for jihad online and recruiting terrorists to join the jihad movement."
Akhror BozorovDHS
Bozorov "illegally entered the United States in February 2023," at which point he "was then arrested by U.S. Border Patrol and released into American communities by the Biden administration," DHS said.
During the Biden administration, people who crossed the border illegally could surrender to authorities and continue on into the country while awaiting a hearing in immigration court.
Thousands went on to get CDLs, and now DHS under President Donald Trump considers many to be illegal aliens.
Immigration raids on interstates in Indiana and Oklahoma have resulted un hundreds of those "illegal aliens" arrested and deported as DHS increases its collaboration with state law enforcement.
[Related: Homeland Security explains how 'illegal aliens' get CDLs in the U.S.]
DOT's ongoing crackdown on non-citizen drivers cited the lack of vetting for border crossers like Bozorov as justification for trying to shut down non-domiciled CDL issuance almost entirely. DOT's September 29 rulemaking to that effect was last week blocked in court, but both DOT and DHS say they are committed to increasing immigration enforcement in trucking.
Overdrive readers have flagged the national security threat from unvetted non-citizen drivers as reason to shut down non-domiciled CDL issuance.
DHS said the "Biden administration granted [Bozorov] work authorization in January 2024." DHS also called out Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for the state issuing Bozorov his CDL. DOT in its September rulemaking flagged Pennsylvania for non-domiciled CDL issuance practices out of step with federal regs.
“This should go without saying, but terrorist illegal aliens should not be operating 18-wheelers on America’s highways,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Biden and [Alexander] Mayorkas [Biden's DHS Secretary] allowed countless terrorists to come into our country. President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target these national security threats.”
[Related: ICE and the OK raid: Trump's immigration crackdown sets sights on trucking]
"This is exactly why we can't have illegal immigrants operating big rigs on our roads!" DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said, responding to DHS's release on social media.
