Border crackdown slashes cabotage violations by foreign truckers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has dramatically tightened enforcement of federal cabotage laws this year, blocking hundreds of Mexican and Canadian truckers from entering the country through Mexico after they were caught violating domestic haulage rules. The crackdown has already removed 250 Mexican carriers from U.S. commercial zones along the southern border, as agents leverage merged Department of Transportation data to flag prior cabotage violations at roadside inspections and border crossings. Foreign drivers are legally permitted to enter the U.S. on valid visas to transport cross-border freight, but they break federal law if they stay to haul domestic loads—jobs that would otherwise go to American truckers. “For years, foreign carriers exploited enforcement gaps created by the previous administration to illegally haul freight within our borders, undercut American truckers and violate our laws. The era of looking the other way is over,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. Border patrol stations across California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas are now actively enforcing cabotage rules, detaining foreign truckers lacking valid legal driving credentials or U.S. residence. In New Mexico, El Paso sector agents arrested a Canadian driver on August 10 for allegedly violating his non-immigrant visa by conducting unauthorized domestic freight operations on a 200-mile trip from Deming to Los Lunas. He faces prosecution and possible deportation. On August 6, agents also arrested a Mexican trucker legally present in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visitor visa after he was found working as a commercial driver in violation of his visa terms. In a separate incident, Border Patrol agents from the Blythe station in California stopped a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van on Interstate 40 near Needles and found an undocumented Brazilian national behind the wheel. The driver had entered the U.S. in July 2024 on a B1/B2 tourism and business visa, which expired in January 2025. At the time of his arrest, he was operating as a hotshot driver for hire, transporting goods with a bill of lading from Florida to California. He was processed for deportation. The American Trucking Associations supports the federal enforcement push. “There is an important distinction between lawful cross-border commerce and illegal domestic trucking operations. Foreign drivers operating under visas that do not authorize domestic trucking cannot be used to haul freight from one U.S. point to another,” said Bob Costello, chief economist and senior vice president of international trade and security policy for ATA. “Those operations violate the law and unfairly undercut American drivers and motor carriers that follow the rules.”