OKLAHOMA CITY: Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced Tuesday that a coordinated enforcement drive with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resulted in the arrest of 120 undocumented immigrants during a highway crackdown.
The operation, known as Operation Guardian, targeted Interstate 40 near the Texas border. According to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, troopers intercepted commercial trucks and detained drivers using expired, forged, or unverifiable licenses.
Authorities confirmed that many individuals taken into custody were unable to provide legitimate identification and were immediately handed over to federal immigration officials.
Governor Stitt said the crackdown demonstrates Oklahoma’s determination to act decisively where, in his view, Washington has failed. “The Biden administration’s weak border enforcement has left states like ours to deal with the consequences,” he told a press briefing.
Public safety officials stressed the risks posed by unqualified operators driving massive commercial vehicles. “An 80,000-pound truck traveling 70 miles per hour is not going to result in a minor crash,” one official warned.
State figures show Oklahoma currently houses more than 500 undocumented offenders in its prison system. The new initiative also expands agreements with federal agencies to accelerate deportations of inmates already under removal orders.
