Federal and state officials said Operation Midway Blitz resulted in the arrest of 223 noncitizens in Indiana, including more than 140 people the officials said held commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), during a press event focused on roadway safety and immigration enforcement.

Kristi Noem, who spoke at the event and was introduced as a Department of Homeland Security official, said the operations targeted “illegal aliens” driving commercial vehicles and described cases in which drivers she said were present in the United States without authorization caused deadly crashes. “Too many families across this country have felt pain and been victimized and lost loved ones because of these illegal drivers,” she said.

Todd Lyons, identified at the event as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said the nationwide effort has arrested more than 3,000 noncitizens and that 223 were arrested in the Indiana roadway operation. “With the help of our federal partners, we've arrested over 3,000 criminal aliens with Operation Midway Blitz,” Lyons said. He and other officials attributed many of the CDLs to licenses issued in what they called “sanctuary states,” naming California, Illinois and New York.

Madison Sheehan, identified as deputy director of ICE, said Indiana has entered agreements under the 287(g) program that delegate immigration authority to state officers and described a task‑force model and reimbursement for state participation. “Thanks to President Trump, we were able to expand the 287(g) program to a task force model that allows us to walk beside state and local officers,” Sheehan said at the event.

Indiana officials at the event described the partnership as focused on public safety rather than immigration status alone. A representative of the Indiana State Police said troopers and motor‑carrier inspectors enforce federal and state commercial motor vehicle laws at weigh stations and mobile inspections and cited routine inspection volumes. “For us, this is not new. We've been implementing there's no new implementation of new laws. This is what we do every day,” the speaker said.

Officials cited a mix of criminal allegations for people arrested in the operation, including vehicle theft, drug possession or distribution, assault, driving under the influence, and theft. The event included a list of individual cases they said had criminal convictions or pending charges; the officials said those arrests removed people they described as dangerous from roadways.

Speakers also discussed related federal policies: officials said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently ended an automatic renewal policy for certain work permits, which they said will reduce the number of noncitizens who obtain CDLs through work‑permit renewals. They also urged broader implementation of the REAL ID requirements and said some states’ licensing policies allow noncitizens to obtain driver’s licenses and CDLs that can be used across state lines.

The speakers framed the operation as an interagency effort involving ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), USCIS and the Indiana State Police. They credited partnerships with state troopers assigned to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division and said the state will continue to enforce commercial vehicle rules while supporting federal immigration operations.

Several numerical details were stated at the event and contained minor inconsistencies across speakers: officials said 223 people were arrested in the Indiana operations; one count cited 146 of those as drivers (including 46 semi‑truck drivers and about 82 operators of box trucks, buses or moving vans), while another speaker cited “over 140” drivers including “over 50” semi‑truck operators. Those differing figures were reported by officials during the event and are noted here as stated.

The event included examples of crashes cited by speakers and references to incidents in California and Florida; officials asserted some of the CDLs involved were issued in states named during the remarks. No vote or formal policy adoption occurred at the event; officials described ongoing operations, enforcement authority arrangements and intergovernmental reimbursements rather than a discrete legislative action.

The event concluded with officials saying operations would continue and with an invitation for questions from reporters. The officials repeatedly characterized the effort as aimed at public safety and at removing noncitizens who are present unlawfully and who also have criminal histories, while state law enforcement representatives emphasized ongoing commercial motor vehicle enforcement at weigh stations and inspection sites.