DOT, DHS and DOJ launch joint task force targeting fraud in trucking

On August 31, 2026, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs, the White House task force on fraud and U.S. Attorneys from Michigan and Indiana announced an interagency effort against fraud in the trucking industry. The centerpiece is the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, which teams U.S. Attorneys' offices across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio with DOT, FMCSA, the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, ICE and ATF.

The stated targets are commercial driver's license fraud, fraudulent CDL training schools and operators, English-language-proficiency violations, unauthorized employment of drivers, identity-document fraud and money laundering, and any links to human smuggling or drug trafficking.

The release cites enforcement already carried out under the administration's trucking crackdown: more than 30,000 illegally issued licenses cancelled, more than 8,000 unqualified training schools removed from FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, 110 schools removed on an emergency basis, a synchronized single-day sweep of more than 200 driving schools across 23 states, and roughly 28,000 drivers taken off the road for failing English-proficiency checks.

What carriers should expect, according to the agencies: national surge operations that pair DHS and DOT officials at weigh stations and commercial-vehicle checkpoints, more roadside inspections with English-proficiency testing, and audits of third-party CDL skills testers and the state agencies that oversee them. This is enforcement of existing rules, not a new regulation — nothing in the announcement changes what the FMCSRs require.