I’ll lay out why a newly arrested Uzbek national driving an 18-wheeler after being cleared to work under the Biden administration highlights the risks of issuing Commercial Driver’s Licenses to non-citizens and why enforcing immigration and road-safety laws matters for public safety.
Here we go: ICE recently arrested an alleged criminal from Uzbekistan who had been given permission to work in the U.S. and a commercial driver’s license. That single fact raises red flags about how immigration vetting and state licensing can combine to put large vehicles in the hands of dangerous people. This isn’t just a policy debate, it’s a public-safety issue with real consequences for drivers on our highways.
Reports say the man in question, Akhror Bozorov, was wanted by Uzbek authorities on terrorism charges and was later found working as a commercial truck driver here. The news that he was granted work authorization in January 2024 under the Biden administration is particularly troubling to those focused on national security. Granting employment and licensing without thorough vetting creates predictable risks.
On top of that, states like California have issued thousands of non-domiciled CDLs, and federal officials are responding. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced moves to revoke improperly issued credentials, aiming to restore common-sense roadway safety standards. When 80,000-pound tractor-trailers are piloted by drivers who lack basic English comprehension, the margin for catastrophic error narrows fast.
ICE and state law enforcement have worked together to remove dangerous drivers who were illegally in the country but allowed to operate commercial vehicles by state policies. Marcos Charles of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations laid out the issue bluntly in public comments about arrests made in Oklahoma and elsewhere. Those joint actions reflect the kind of intergovernmental enforcement necessary when federal and state policies collide.
For the second time in just the past month, the state of Oklahoma and ICE have banded together to bolster public safety along Oklahoma’s highways, identifying and apprehending illegal aliens who are in the country illegally and have been recklessly issued a commercial driver’s license by states like California, Illinois, and New Jersey. Many of the illegal aliens arrested behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound tractor trailer can’t even read basic English, endangering everyone they encounter on the roads.
The Bozorov arrest places these abstract concerns into stark, immediate terms. Authorities say Uzbekistan issued a warrant for his arrest in 2022 for allegedly belonging to a terrorist organization, and that he was accused of distributing propaganda and recruiting for jihad online. ICE arrested Bozorov while he was driving an 18-wheeler in Kansas, and officials note he obtained a CDL in Pennsylvania before being authorized to work here.
Akhror Bozorov, 31, hails from Uzbekistan, where authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in 2022 for allegedly belonging to a terrorist organization, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. Authorities in Uzbekistan accused him of distributing terrorist propaganda calling for jihad online and recruiting terrorists to join the jihad movement.
ICE arrested Bozorov on Nov. 9 while he was working as a commercial truck driver, driving an 18-wheeler in Kansas. ICE said that Bozorov was issued a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) in Pennsylvania. Officials added that he was granted authorization to work in January 2024 under the Biden administration.
Department of Homeland Security officials and allies in the federal government have voiced sharp criticism. Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary, explicitly blamed the Biden administration for allowing such people into the country and pointed to state-issued CDLs as compounding the problem. Her comments reflect a broader Republican stance that emphasizes border security and stricter vetting for work authorization.
Not only was Akhror Bozorov — a wanted terrorist — RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration, but he was also given a commercial driver’s license by Governor Shapiro’s Pennsylvania. This should go without saying, but terrorist illegal aliens should not be operating 18-wheelers on America’s highways. Biden and [his secretary of Homeland Security] Mayorkas allowed countless terrorists to come into our country.
Those pushing for tighter controls argue that the problem is predictable and preventable: if you stop granting work authorization and licensing without solid vetting, you reduce the chance that dangerous individuals will be behind the wheel. The federal government is already taking steps to challenge state-issued licenses that bypass national security safeguards. Yet court interventions and political resistance in some states complicate enforcement.
President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target these national security threats.
From this perspective, Democrats’ resistance to tightening CDL eligibility looks less like a civil-rights defense and more like a political gamble. Critics contend the party values potential future voters over the immediate safety of the traveling public, making roadways less safe in pursuit of long-term electoral gains. That accusation fuels the sharp partisan divide over how to handle immigration and licensing policy.
The broader picture includes tragic examples of crashes tied to poorly vetted drivers that have killed civilians and prompted federal scrutiny. That pattern keeps the issue in the headlines and motivates federal officials to press states to align licensing with national security standards. Until policy and enforcement match the scale of the risk, tensions between state decisions and federal security concerns will continue to escalate.
For conservatives focused on protecting American roads and borders, the Bozorov case is a clear call to tighten vetting, restrict CDL eligibility to properly verified applicants, and ensure that federal immigration enforcement remains robust. The debate centers on safety, sovereignty, and who gets the final say when state policies undermine national security goals.
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