Homeland Security said Monday it has arrested an illegal immigrant from Uzbekistan who was allowed into the U.S. during the Biden administration and earned a driver’s license in Pennsylvania, even though he is wanted as a terrorist in his home country.
Akhror Bozorov, 31, was arrested Nov. 9 during an operation in Kansas, where he was working as a commercial truck driver.
His arrest comes as the Trump administration is trying to crack down on states issuing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants who are working here as “non-domiciled” drivers.
DHS said Uzbekistan issued a warrant for Mr. Bozorov in 2022 on the accusation of being part of a terrorist organization. He crossed the U.S. border in February 2023 and was caught and released by the Border Patrol.
The Biden administration then issued Mr. Bozorov a work permit last year, and a copy of his CDL published by DHS says it was issued in Pennsylvania four months ago, on July 25.
“This should go without saying, but terrorist illegal aliens should not be operating 18-wheelers on America’s highways,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
The case is something of a smoking gun for the Trump administration, which has been pressing states to stop issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants.
The Transportation Department earlier this year issued a new regulation designed to crack down on non-domiciled foreign commercial drivers, saying they are less safe than other drivers.
A federal appeals court, in a decision last week, put that rule on hold. The Trump administration has vowed to fight the ruling,
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been targeting commercial truck drivers in recent weeks, with one operation in Oklahoma netting 26 illegal immigrants who were operating trucks using state-issued CDLs, and eight other illegal immigrants who were driving trucks without a CDL at all.
And California, under pressure from the feds, has moved to revoke 17,000 CDLs it issued to non-domiciled foreign nationals.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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