The Hidden Crisis on Our Highways: Illegal Immigrants, Fake CDLs, and National Security

By Brannon Howse
April 9, 2025

Folks, we’ve uncovered a story that should shake every American to their core—a story that’s been buried by the mainstream media until we forced it into the light. On my broadcast, carried across 74 stations and amplified through social media, we broke the news with United Truckers about illegal immigrants driving 18-wheelers on our highways under fraudulent Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs). These aren’t just paperwork errors; they’re a ticking time bomb of public safety and national security risks. And after days of relentless coverage, even Fox News picked it up—interviewing the same truckers we brought to you first. They thanked us for the boost, and I’m glad Fox ran with it, but this is only the beginning.

Here’s the ugly truth: foreigners—many from Somalia and the Middle East—are obtaining fake CDLs in Canada and crossing into the U.S. to drive massive rigs. We’re not talking about Canadians here; these are illegals exploiting a broken system. Local news reports we highlighted showed the carnage: one family of four wiped out, a man in Colorado killed—all by drivers who shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. This isn’t a one-off; it’s a pattern no one’s talking about—until now.

I had Todd Bensman from CIS.org and ToddBensman.com on the show to unpack this mess. Todd’s a straight shooter who hadn’t heard of the story until it hit the news, but he saw its gravity right away. “Congratulations,” he said, “that’s an important story, very important story, especially if people are dying as a result.” And they are dying. Todd raised the right questions: Are states—especially blue states hungry for cheap labor—policing these licenses? Are they cracking down on fraud? The evidence says no.

We played a clip from Shannon Newton, President of the Arkansas Trucking Association, testifying before a Senate judiciary committee. She admitted the cartels are churning out these fake CDLs—verified by cases like a guy in Arkansas who got a counterfeit Mexican license delivered to him in prison. Her solution? Another piece of paper, a U.S.-issued work permit or visa to “verify” identity. Todd and I agree: if the system’s already rotten with fraud, more paperwork won’t fix it. The cartels don’t care about your forms—they’re too busy raking in cash and endangering lives.

Think about the stakes here. These drivers aren’t just hauling freight; they’re potential vectors for bioweapons, poisoned food supplies, or worse. United Truckers pointed out Middle Eastern drivers who could be tied to terror cells. Imagine a rig loaded with contaminated meat or a chemical agent rolling through your town. This isn’t fearmongering—it’s a national security crisis. Todd nailed it: “There needs to be a federal authority… whether it’s Congress or the Department of Transportation or even the FBI” to bust these rings and hold trucking companies accountable. Why? Because some of these firms are hiring illegals to undercut American drivers, slashing wages and destroying middle-class livelihoods. It’s slavery economics all over again, as Todd put it—a system “riven with abuse and fraud.”

We shifted gears to Trump’s border wins, and Todd had plenty to say. The Supreme Court recently greenlit using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gangsters and terrorists, but with a catch: due process hearings that could drag on forever, tangled up by ACLU lawyers. Todd’s skeptical it’ll work at scale—a “Pyrrhic victory,” he called it. The real test is still coming in Texas courts over whether this 1798 law applies to today’s border invasion.

But there’s good news too. Todd just returned from the border—Juarez, El Paso, Del Rio, Acuna—and the numbers are jaw-dropping. Border Patrol’s catching 200 to 300 a day from Tijuana to Matamoros, down from 10,000 to 14,000 under Biden. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a number that low,” Todd said, calling it “stupendous.” Trump’s deterrence—100% detention and deportation—is working. A year ago, those riverbanks were swarming; now they’re empty.

Then there’s the fentanyl war. Todd’s Daily Wire piece reports seizures are down 50%—not because we’re catching less, but because smuggling’s tanking. Why? Trump’s tariff threats scared Mexico into action. The Mexican army’s raided Culiacan, Sinaloa’s fentanyl hub, dismantling labs and arresting 10,000 producers. Even the New York Times, no Trump fan, credits those tariffs for forcing Mexico to crack down. The cartels are so rattled they’re reportedly shifting fentanyl to Europe instead. Lives are being saved, and the media’s silent.

Todd dropped another bombshell: U.S. military pressure’s everywhere—CIA spy flights, destroyers off Mexico’s coast, Green Berets training Mexican forces, and 10th Mountain Division patrolling our side. The cartels are boxed in. Mexico’s president may balk at direct U.S. intervention, but our clandestine ops are already hammering them.

This is what real journalism looks like—digging up the stories they won’t touch and connecting the dots. Check out ToddBensman.com or follow him at @BensmanTodd on X for more. We’re not done with this fight—not by a long shot.

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW: https://worldviewtube.com/tv/video/todd-bensman-illegal-immigrants-fake…