Federal agents inspected at least 196 commercial drivers at the Highway 86 checkpoint near Indio, California, during joint enforcement operations held throughout August and September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a release dated October 20.

Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The operations were run by U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Indio Station together with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Drivers and vehicles were checked for immigration, transportation and transportation-safety violations, CBP said.

196commercial drivers inspected
57drivers cited
27drivers placed out of service
2visa-condition violations found

Agents issued citations to 57 drivers for violations involving English-language proficiency, hours-of-service logbooks and vehicle equipment, and 27 drivers were placed out of service, according to CBP. Transport Topics, reporting the same CBP results, described the cases as including alleged cabotage and English-language requirement violations.

Source: Transport Topics

Two visa cases and two arrests

Agents also identified two commercial drivers who, CBP said, violated the conditions of their temporary visitor visas by engaging in prohibited shipping activity. One driver was processed for the violation; the other was processed for voluntary return and had his Border Crossing Card revoked, the agency said.

The operations led to two arrests, CBP said. A Haitian national was arrested after the revocation of his Temporary Protected Status and transferred to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations for further processing. A U.S. citizen semi-truck driver with an active, extraditable Texas warrant for a parole violation was arrested and transferred to the Imperial County Sheriff's Office for extradition.

CDLLife and Truckers News, reporting the same federal release, carried the same inspection, citation and out-of-service figures. CBP said the joint operations were meant to strengthen commercial vehicle enforcement by addressing immigration, transportation and vehicle safety violations together — an enforcement mix that directly affects Punjabi and other immigrant truck drivers working California's desert freight corridors.

Source: CDLLife