Oklahoma apprehends 600 CMV drivers, exposes 'well-organized criminal network' in trucking

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety recently released stats from its Operation Guardian partnership with the Department of Homeland Security.

In early 2025, Oklahoma became the first state to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to set up immigration raids along I-40. 

Since then, almost every state in the union has partnered with federal immigration enforcement through DHS' 287(g) program. 

Oklahoma DPS Commissioner Tim Tipton recently gave details of Operation Guardian to local media, saying that the state has become a national model for partnership with the DHS.

Tipton told Newson6.com that state troopers identified more than 600 drivers during the past year who were allegedly unlicensed, improperly trained or in the country illegally. 

“The second thing that surprised me was the places these people came from around the globe; you name a continent, they came here,” Tipton told Newson6.com. 

Additionally, CMV drivers with criminal warrants, sometimes connected to international crimes, were a common site. So, too, were "pop up" trucking schools issuing CDLs improperly. 

“It was and is a well-organized criminal network that’s done this to the trucking industry,” Tipton told the news org. 

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An infographic posted by Oklahoma State Police said they apprehended more than 600 CMV drivers since April 2025, without getting into much detail about the proceedings. 

In October 2025, a single three-day blitz led to “a total of 130 commercial drivers... arrested and taken off the road for various violations,” authorities said at the time. 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief Derek Barrs has presided over a similar operation, Operation SafeDRIVE, and promised more of the same work with state partners to kick bad actors out of trucking. 

Oklahoma's Operation Guardian also included 93 "unaccompanied alien children" welfare checks, in an effort to confirm the childrens' sponsors and residences while also looking for evidence of abuse or trafficking. 

"Oklahoma has now become the nationwide leader in locating and verifying the safety of unaccompanied minors within our state — a major milestone in protecting vulnerable children and strengthening public safety efforts across Oklahoma," OHP wrote on Facebook.