Trucks enter the U.S. from Mexico at the Nogales-Mariposa port of entry in July. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg)
January 23, 2026 4:15 PM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- Homeland Security agents raided Tucson-based AG Trucking in December on suspicion the company engaged in illegal cabotage using foreign drivers.
- ATA officials said the enforcement is significant because cabotage violates federal law and undermines fair competition in the U.S. trucking industry.
- DHS and federal prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing, with sealed warrants and potential additional company targets along the Southwest border.
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Federal law enforcement is taking sharper aim at the long-simmering issue of cabotage.
In December, agents from the Department of Homeland Security raided an Arizona trucking company suspected of participating in cabotage, the term used when foreign-registered commercial truck drivers operating with valid visas for delivery of cross-border freight instead remain in the U.S. to haul domestic loads. Cabotage is a violation of federal law.
According to witnesses and news reports, federal agents conducted an investigation at Tucson, Ariz.-based AG Trucking on suspicion of cabotage.
“ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents are executing a federal search warrant near Flowing Wells and Miracle Mile related to cabotage violations and unlawful labor practices,” DHS spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe said in a statement about the raid. “This is an ongoing investigation.” AG Trucking is headquartered at 1261 W. Miracle Mile in Tucson.
Pitts O’Keefe and other DHS public affairs officials did not respond to Transport Topics inquiries seeking information about the raid or potential investigations of other U.S. trucking companies.
“The search warrants in this matter are under seal with the court and we would not provide any comment until any potential charges are filed,” said Sean Lokey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Arizona’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, via email. “Unfortunately, there is nothing more we can tell you about this matter at this time.”
Two DHS units — Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — were involved.
One witness to the raid was Pima County Board Supervisor Jennifer Allen, who represents a district that spans about 7,200 square miles and includes Tucson. The district also shares a 130-mile border with Mexico.
(Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg)
She stood with a crowd of journalists and onlookers outside a cordoned-off area as some 20 agents carried boxes out of the trucking company’s facility. Allen questioned agents and released videos during and after the raid on her social media account.
“I’ve learned that this operation is one-of-a-kind of a larger investigation that Homeland Security Investigations is doing, looking at trucking companies — or at least some of the smaller trucking companies — along the Southwest border,” Allen said. “It seems like there are other trucking companies that are likely under investigation and going to be targeted similarly in the Southwest.
The U.S. Department of Transportation as of Jan. 21 listed AG Trucking as an active carrier with 13 drivers and 14 power units with intrastate-only authorization. Its cargo was identified as metal (sheets, coils and rolls). The company was marked as not authorized to operate as an interstate, for-hire carrier. AG Trucking is registered to Erika Martinez Gutierrez and listed as “active” and “in good standing” by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Calls to the phone number listed in DOT’s company snapshot for AG Trucking revealed the line is no longer in service.
ATA Touts Long-Sought Action
Federal enforcement of cabotage has been a longstanding goal for American Trucking Associations.
“This is excellent news, and we hope there is more enforcement,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist and senior vice president of international trade policy and security. “This illegal use of foreign drivers is unfair to U.S. drivers and law-abiding motor carriers, and it cannot be tolerated. These actions from the Department of Homeland Security send a strong message to any carriers engaged in cabotage that this illegal activity will not go unchecked.”
Allen continued, “They’re going after [a] violation of a law that was defined as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement that permits truckers from Mexico [who] can come into the United States. They can drop their trailer. They can pick up another trailer as long as they bring it back to Mexico. What they’re investigating are trucking companies that keep the drivers. They are staying in the U.S. and … picking up deliveries within the United States. That is a violation of the visa that the truck drivers have, and it’s also a violation for the company for the types of commerce that they are doing.”
Cabotage laws exist to ensure that transport of cargo and passengers between two points within the U.S. is handled by legally permitted carriers or drivers. Specifically, commercial truck drivers holding B-1 business-visitor visas can haul freight between the U.S. and Mexico but are prohibited from domestic U.S. transport of goods, even if those goods were foreign in origin. Cabotage can result in revocation of a truck driver’s B-1 visa.
“Members of the Arizona Trucking Association are aware of cabotage and are frustrated by the lack of enforcement,” said Tony Bradley, the group’s president.
The state association recently joined other trucking associations in an effort called the Trucking Association Executives Council to develop a comprehensive policy blueprint to eliminate bad actors in trucking who exploit regulatory gaps, undermine highway safety and distort fair competition in the commercial trucking industry.
“Cabotage undermines both U.S. and Mexican trucking industries and is a serious issue that needs to be addressed,” Bradley said. “The Trucking Association Executives Council’s recent action plan addresses this issue and recommends: Strengthening enforcement and penalties against cabotage; conduct monthly random [Customs and Border Protection] inspections at CMV checkpoints to enforce cabotage rules; and enable state police to enforce or coordinate with U.S. Customs, to name a few.”
Allen had no updates to share when contacted in the aftermath of the AG Trucking inspection. “I haven’t heard of additional operations since the one a couple weeks back,” she said. “We have attempted to get a copy of the warrant but have been told that it is still sealed and therefore, the U.S. Attorney’s office is unable to share it with us.”
Arizona’s trucking industry supports 165,000 jobs and transports goods to 96% of the state’s communities, the state association said.
