A trucking executive has raised concerns about “foreign-owned entities” operating within the U.S. trucking industry without adhering to regulations. This, he argues, has led to an increase in illegal immigrant drivers.
In response to a series of fatal crashes nationwide, the federal government has intensified efforts against illegal immigrant truck drivers. As part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” the Department of Homeland Security announced in late October that 146 illegal immigrant truck drivers were apprehended on highways in northwest Indiana.
On October 15, Borko Stankovic, an illegal immigrant, was involved in a crash on U.S. Highway 20 in Indiana. According to FOX 32, traffic had halted due to a Ram Sprinter turning near Douglas Drive, but Stankovic, driving a semi-truck, didn’t appear to slow down. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin informed Fox News Digital that Stankovic’s nonimmigrant visa expired in February 2011, and he has remained in the U.S. since then.
The Portage Police Department reported that Stankovic attempted a sharp evasive left turn, entering oncoming traffic and striking a Subaru Crosstrek. His semi-truck jackknifed following the impact and subsequently hit the Ram Sprinter, which was then forced into a road sign.
Sadly, the crash resulted in the death of Jeffrey Eberly, the 54-year-old driver of the Subaru, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials said the driver of the Subaru, 54-year-old Jeffrey Eberly, died at the scene.
Stankovic possessed a suspended commercial driver’s license (CDL) which belonged to a family member and wasn’t licensed to drive a truck himself, authorities said. He was charged with felony reckless homicide and felony criminal recklessness resulting in death.
In a separate incident on Aug. 12 in Fort Pierce, Florida, Harjinder Singh was driving a semi-truck when authorities said he attempted to make a U-turn in an unauthorized area. The trailer then jackknifed and was hit by a minivan, killing all three people inside the minivan, officials said.
Singh crossed the U.S. border illegally in 2018 and was issued a CDL in California, authorities said. Singh was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide.
Zach Meiborg, who owns Meiborg Brothers Trucking in Illinois, told Fox News Digital that a sizable portion of the trucking industry has been shipped off to foreign-owned countries who don’t have an issue with hiring illegal immigrants even though it’s against the law.
“We’re watching our bureaucrats export the most vital industry to our economy to foreign-owned entities, typically in the Eastern Bloc, formerly Russia. That’s why they have no problem hiring them,” Meiborg said. “Where foreign-owned companies realized they could exploit like five different areas of the trucking economy and explode the growth of their fleets. And they did it by just flat out breaking the laws and our bureaucrats that regulate us looked the other way.”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Meiborg said some trucking companies saw an opportunity to move their operations offshore during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting American companies at a disadvantage.
“Their dispatch is over there, their safety is over there, the recruiting is over there, and they do it all digitally online,” he said. “So they’re running foreign labor, imported from overseas, not trained, they’re paying them 1099, not W-2, not complying with any of the ACA or state tax laws or federal tax laws.”
Bodycam still shows Harjinder Singh holding paperwork as a New Mexico State Police officer issues him a speeding ticket during a July 3 traffic stop. (New Mexico State Police bodycam)
Meiborg said these companies are creating their own electronic logbooks and self-certifying that they’re following certain regulations, therefore manipulating the system with little to no oversight.
The Department of Transportation has begun taking action to combat the number of illegal immigrants operating semi-trucks. In late September, the agency announced an emergency interim final rule that would increase federal oversight of how states issue non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.
A mugshot provided by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office of Harjinder Singh, who was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. Singh, an illegal immigrant commercial truck driver, is facing charges after three people were killed in a crash after he allegedly made an illegal U-turn on a Florida interstate Aug. 12. (St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office)
Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO of Freight Right Global Logistics, told Fox News Digital that the federal government needs to continue strengthening its oversight of the industry if it wants to address the number of illegal immigrants driving commercial trucks.
“It’s just about enforcing the existing law, right? It’s not like we’re saying change the law, don’t provide driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. They’re not supposed to. The law is very clear. You need to be a legal resident or you need to be a U.S. citizen to obtain a commercial driver’s license in most states, as far as I know. So it just comes down to enforcement,” Khachatryan said.
