Highway Nightmare Avoided as ICE Arrests Illegal Alien Truck Driver

WASHINGTON, DC- Another illegal alien truck driver has been removed from wreaking havoc on America’s highways after an illegal alien from Brazil, Lins Dos-Santos-Melo, was arrested during enforcement operations on I-81 in Virginia, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Harrisonburg office reported.

ICE reported that Dos Santos-Melo had a valid Massachusetts driver’s license, however, he didn’t hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL), a requirement to operate a tractor trailer, which he was driving.

“Commercial driver’s license requirements exist for a reason,” said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella. “When someone gets behind the wheel of a vehicle this size without the training and qualifications required for law, they’re putting every family sharing that roadway at risk. Lins Dos Santos-Melo had no legal basis to remain in the United States and no legal authority to operate that vehicle. ICE will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify and remove those who disregard our immigration laws and public safety laws.”

The arrest follows a number of illegal alien truck driver arrests nationwide, including that of Rajinder Kumar in April 2026, who killed newlyweds William Micah Carter and Jennifer Lynn Lower on Highway 20 in Oregon. In February, ICE arrested Bekzhan Beishekeev, who caused a fatal Indiana crash that killed four.

Massachusetts is one of a number of far-left blue states that gives illegal aliens driver’s licenses, regardless of their immigration status under a 2023 law called the Work and Family Mobility Act.

In March, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amended the federal regulations regarding issuance of commercial driving credentials to non-domiciled (no known address) individuals.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell along with far-left attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia who opposed the final rule that limits states’ ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses. The final rule went into effect on March 16, 2026 and was the brainchild of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.