Indiana — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have arrested 223 individuals along major Indiana highways since mid-September as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” a joint initiative with the Indiana State Police aimed at improving 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.”
The operation focuses on illegal commercial drivers, many of whom carried commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued by sanctuary states including California, Illinois, and New York. Of the 46 truck drivers detained, ten held CDLs identified by ICE as vulnerable to fraud and misuse.
Federal officials tied the operation to broader national concerns about highway fatalities linked to unlicensed drivers. “In recent weeks, we have seen illegal semi-truck drivers responsible for significant loss of life across the country,” Lyons said. “This was preventable, and that is precisely why we are working to ensure this doesn’t happen in Indiana or Illinois.”
Named in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a hit-and-run by an illegal alien driver, Operation Midway Blitz forms part of a Department of Homeland Security enforcement campaign centered on the Chicago area. At least a dozen of those arrested in Indiana have prior criminal records, including charges for driving while intoxicated, drug trafficking, theft, burglary, assault, and child abuse.
ICE stated the operation demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to restoring immigration law enforcement and protecting the nation’s infrastructure from unqualified and dangerous drivers.
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