A multi-agency enforcement operation along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma has spotlighted growing concerns about the validity and legality of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued by certain states to undocumented immigrants, including at least one CDL listing the driver’s name as “No Name Given.”
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced Monday that Operation Guardian, conducted jointly by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), resulted in the apprehension of 125 undocumented immigrants from nine countries operating commercial vehicles on the state’s highways.
The ‘No Name Given’ Problem
The operation uncovered what transportation security experts are calling a glaring vulnerability in the nation’s commercial licensing system: valid CDLs issued with placeholder names rather than verified identities.
According to California Department of Motor Vehicles policy, if an identity document presented by an applicant lists “No Name Given” in the first name field, DMV officials are required to transfer that exact text onto the driver’s license, including commercial licenses authorizing operation of 80,000-pound tractor-trailers.
“If New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them,” Governor Stitt said. “The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”
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