Over one thousand drivers have lost their Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) for good as part of a long-standing Border Patrol program.

On June 24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that 1,053 CDLs have been cancelled since the inception of the Laredo Sector Border Patrol’s Texas Hold’em initiative in 2008.

Of those cancellations, 848 CDLs were cancelled due to human smuggling cases, and 205 CDLs were cancelled for narcotic smuggling cases.

So far this fiscal year, 141 CDLs have been successfully cancelled as part of the program.

The Texas Hold’em program uses state law to permanently revoke the CDL of any person convicted on felony smuggling transportation charges while operating a commercial motor vehicle.

“An increase in communication and shared information between law enforcement agencies and transportation stakeholders has proven to be a great success for the program,” CBP said.

Also as part of the Texas Hold’em program, border agents conduct weekly educational outreach to the transportation industry, freight forwarding agencies, custom brokers, and commercial drivers.

Citizens are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to U.S. Border Patrol while remaining anonymous by calling 1-800-343-1994.