Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have taken into custody 223 people along major Indiana highways as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” a joint initiative with the Indiana State Police to improve roadway safety by removing unlicensed and illegal alien drivers.
“ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz to remove illegal alien threats to public safety, which is exactly what we have done in Chicago,” said acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “We recognized from the start that this must include protecting roadways carrying interstate traffic and cargo. Sanctuary policies like those in Illinois sadly don’t recognize borders, and ICE and the Indiana State Police have successfully arrested hundreds of illegal alien truck drivers who should not be operating on our highways.”
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The operation targets illegal commercial drivers, many of whom have commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued by sanctuary jurisdictions such as California, Illinois, and New York. Ten of the 46 truck drivers apprehended had CDLs that ICE has designated as being prone to fraud and misuse.
Federal officials linked the operation to broader national worries about highway deaths caused by unlicensed drivers. “Recently, we have seen illegal semi-truck drivers responsible for significant loss of life across the country,” Lyons told the crowd. “This was preventable, and that is precisely why we are working to ensure this doesn’t happen in Indiana or Illinois.”
Operation Midway Blitz is part of a Department of Homeland Security enforcement program concentrating on the Chicago region. It is named after Katie Abraham, who was killed in a hit-and-run by an illegal alien motorist. At least a dozen of those detained in Indiana have past criminal records, including charges of DUI, drug trafficking, larceny, burglary, assault, and child abuse.
ICE noted that the operation underscores the federal government’s commitment to restoring immigration enforcement and protecting the nation’s infrastructure from unqualified and dangerous drivers.
