By Federal immigration agents arrested a 31-year-old Uzbek national with alleged ties to extremist activity overseas after discovering he had been working as a commercial truck driver on U.S. highways. ICE officials confirmed that Akhror Bozorov was taken into custody on November 9 while operating an 18-wheeler in Kansas, ending nearly two years in which he lived and worked in the United States despite an outstanding foreign arrest warrant for terrorism-related offenses.
Terrorists tried to cross into the United States several times during the Biden term.
According to ICE, authorities in Uzbekistan issued a warrant for Bozorov in 2022, accusing him of belonging to a terrorist organization, distributing online propaganda that advocated jihad, and attempting to recruit followers to the jihadist cause. American officials say none of those charges were disclosed to U.S. authorities at the time he crossed the southern border.
Bozorov illegally entered the United States in February 2023 and was briefly detained by Border Patrol before being released into the country. He later secured federal work authorization in January 2024 and obtained a Pennsylvania-issued Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), which enabled him to secure employment driving commercial freight across state lines. The CDL listed his residence in the Somerton neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia, an area that has seen a recent spike in new arrivals from Russian- and Arabic-speaking immigrant communities, according to Fox News.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin sharply condemned the chain of events that allowed Bozorov to obtain legal work and a CDL, calling it emblematic of systemic failures in the nation’s immigration and vetting process. “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,” McLaughlin said. “This should go without saying, but terrorist illegal aliens should not be operating 18-wheelers on America’s highways. Biden and Mayorkas allowed countless terrorists to come into our country.”
She added that “President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target these national security threats,” positioning the arrest as part of a broader enforcement shift under the new administration.
Bozorov’s case also highlights a simmering policy fight in Pennsylvania. State law allows noncitizens with temporary or permanent lawful status to obtain driver’s licenses — including commercial ones — a system that has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers who argue that licensure standards do not sufficiently reflect security risks. Democrats in the state House have countered that licensing rules merely implement the federal REAL ID framework and that immigrant access to driver’s licenses improves roadway safety overall. The revelation that Bozorov legally obtained a CDL despite his immigration history has intensified that debate.
The arrest also comes at a moment when Washington is paying closer attention to commercial driver’s licenses held by noncitizens nationwide. A fatal tractor-trailer crash in Florida earlier this year — caused by an immigrant driver and resulting in three deaths — prompted the Department of Transportation to issue a new rule tightening CDL eligibility. But last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the rule’s enforcement, arguing that federal regulators had exceeded their authority.
This is not the first time illegal immigrants obtaining CDLs has been viewed as a serious public-safety danger. In Oklahoma, a joint enforcement sweep known as Operation Guardian uncovered dozens of unlawful immigrants driving commercial trucks along one of the busiest freight corridors in the country with licenses from California and New York. According to state and federal officials, the multi-agency operation — conducted along Interstate 40 — resulted in more than 500 law-enforcement contacts, 209 commercial-vehicle inspections, and 70 immigration arrests. Thirty-four of those arrested were allegedly driving big-rigs despite lacking any lawful immigration status. Authorities described the crackdown as necessary to “restore integrity in the commercial trucking system” and prevent individuals with unknown backgrounds from operating heavy machinery on public roads.
Federal investigators say Bozorov’s case will now move through immigration court as ICE continues examining his activities inside the United States. Officials emphasized that they are still assessing whether Bozorov maintained contact with extremist networks after entering the country. For now, he remains in federal custody, the subject of what authorities describe as an ongoing national-security review.
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