Thirty Indians who were allegedly working illegally in the United States as commercial truck drivers were arrested in a federal enforcement operation and are expected to be deported, the US authorities said on Monday.According to a statement issued by the US Customs and Border Protection, patrol agents from the Yuma Sector in Arizona arrested 52 persons during “Operation Checkmate” between May 11 and May 15 for being in the country illegally.Of those arrested, 36 were found driving semi-trucks. Thirty were Indian nationals, while the remaining six were from Mexico, El Salvador and Russia.Most held commercial driving licences issued by states including California, New York, Washington and Virginia, though some did not possess any driving licence, the agency said.“Most subjects possessed Employment Authorization Documents, which were obtained during the Biden administration and are no longer valid,” the statement added.The operation was aimed at enhancing public safety by detecting persons “who pose significant risks to public safety”, Acting Chief Patrol Agent Dustin W Caudle said.The agency also said that under President Donald Trump, the Department of Transportation had introduced a rule intended to prevent unqualified foreign drivers from obtaining licences to operate commercial trucks and buses.In recent months, several incidents have been reported in which Indian-origin truck drivers in the US were arrested and charged in connection with fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles.The arrests also came amid a broader immigration crackdown under Trump’s second term which began in January 2025.The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been implementing the Trump administration’s large-scale deportation programme, which was a major poll promise of his campaign ahead of the elections.The agency was set up under the 2002 Homeland Security Act following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. The legislation created the Department of Homeland Security, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement as one of its subsidiary agencies.In his second term, Trump has expanded the agency’s mandate and increased its budget and operation scope. It enforces deferral immigration laws, investigates violations related to undocumented immigration and conducts removal proceedings.More than 3,800 Indian nationals were deported from the United States in 2025, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh informed the Rajya Sabha in a written response to a query.In 2025, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,993 Indian nationals, more than double the 820 arrested the previous year, according to data provided by the agency in response to a Freedom of Information Act request processed by the Deportation Data Project and analysed by Scroll.Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.Also read: Why an Indian trucker who left three dead in US crash has sparked controversies in two countries