In the US, a truck driver with invalid status was arrested: what is known and what questions remain

In November 2025, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported the arrest of a commercial truck driver who, according to authorities, was in the country illegally and wanted in his homeland on terrorism-related charges. The story quickly attracted attention not only because of the severity of the charges but also because the man managed to obtain American documents and work in the trucking industry.

According to an official DHS statement, a 31-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan was detained on November 9, 2025, in the state of Kansas while working as a commercial truck driver. The agency's message states that:

"This person illegally crossed the US border, obtained a work permit, and was allowed to operate commercial transportation, despite being wanted abroad," said DHS spokesperson Trisha McLaughlin on November 17, 2025.

The official DHS press release was published on November 17, 2025, and is available on the agency's website: DHS: ICE arrests Uzbekistan criminal illegal alien and wanted terrorist driving an 18-wheeler.

The greatest number of questions arose from the issuance of the so-called non-domiciled CDL — commercial driver's licenses for individuals without a permanent residence in the US. According to Pennsylvania authorities, this state issued the license in the summer of 2025.

During hearings in the Pennsylvania legislature, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll explained that when issuing the license, the applicant's data was checked through the federal SAVE system (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements), managed by DHS. According to him, at the time of the check, the system showed that the applicant was entitled to receive the license.

These details are provided by PennLive, citing official testimony from state representatives: PennDOT says DHS approved license for truck driver later arrested by ICE.

The case occurred amid attempts by federal regulators to tighten control over the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs. In September 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published an interim rule restricting the states' authority to issue such licenses.

However, on November 13, 2025, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals suspended the rule pending further review. FMCSA officially reported this on its website: FMCSA statement on interim final rule for non-domiciled CDLs.

Despite loud statements, several open questions remain in this story:

• how exactly information is updated between ICE, the SAVE system, and the licensing authorities;
• why repeated checks, according to PennDOT, also did not reveal problems before the arrest;
• what changes will be made to the driver verification procedure in the coming months.

At the moment, federal agencies emphasize that the investigation is ongoing, and the case is considered an example of a systemic failure rather than an isolated error.

For drivers, carriers, and training centers, this incident has become a signal: the rules for access to the CDL driver profession in the US are under review, and the requirements for status and document verification may become stricter in the near future.