WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that India will stop buying oil from Russia, a move Trump described as a “big step” in efforts to isolate Moscow economically.

“So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters during a White House event.

“That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing.”

The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Modi had made such a commitment to Trump.

An Indian pledge to halt buying Russian oil would mark a potential turning point in global energy diplomacy, as Washington intensifies efforts to choke Moscow’s oil revenues amid its ongoing war in Ukraine.

It would also signal a major shift by one of Moscow’s top energy customers and could reshape the calculus for other nations still importing Russian crude. It comes as Trump seeks to leverage bilateral relationships to enforce economic isolation, rather than relying solely on multilateral sanctions.

During his comments to reporters, Trump added that India could not “immediately” halt shipments, calling it “a little bit of a process, but that process will be over soon.”

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington and Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and Rami Ayyub)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have arrested dozens of illegal immigrants carrying commercial driver’s licenses, including one who has a previous arrest, The Daily Wire has learned.

In total, ICE arrested 91 illegal immigrant truck drivers with the help of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol during traffic stops along I-40 in western Oklahoma over a three-day operation last month. Most of the illegal immigrants who were pulled over had commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) from California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. The majority were let into the country under President Joe Biden.

One of the illegal immigrants arrested on the major interstate was not only released into the United States under the Biden administration’s “catch-and-release” policy, but also had a second chance after a previous arrest in New York for forgery, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire.

Russian illegal immigrant Firuz Khamidov, 36, was driving an 18-wheeler with a commercial driver’s license from the sanctuary state of Illinois when he was pulled over on September 25. He was arrested by the New York Police Department in 2023 and wasn’t taken into ICE custody due to the Biden administration’s lax immigration enforcement policies at the time, according to DHS.

Khamidov crossed the border illegally on February 21, 2022, near Calexico, California, and was paroled into the U.S. on April 6, 2022.

Mugshot of Firuz Khamidov (Credit: ICE)

Uzbek illegal immigrant Javokhir Nizomiddin Ugli Kudratov, 28, was carrying a non-domiciled CDL issued by the state of Pennsylvania when he was pulled over while driving an 18-wheeler, according to DHS.

He crossed the border illegally on January 31, 2024, near Tecate, California, and was released into the United States that same day.

Mugshot of Javokhir Nizomiddin Ugli Kudratov (Credit: ICE)

Indian illegal immigrant Rajesh Kumar, 37, was carrying a California-issued CDL and was behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler when ICE arrested him, DHS said.

Most of the illegal immigrant truck drivers pulled over by ICE were from India, accounting for 39 of the arrests.

Kumar crossed the border illegally on April 30, 2023, near San Luis, Arizona, and was released into the U.S. that same day.

Mugshot of Rajesh Kumar (Credit: ICE)

Another Indian illegal immigrant, Sukhdev Singh, 25, had a CDL from Nevada when he was nabbed on September 24 while driving an 18-wheeler, according to DHS.

Singh crossed the border illegally on April 7, 2023, near Lukeville, Arizona, and was released into the interior of the United States that same day.

Mugshot of Sukhdev Singh (Credit: ICE)

Georgian illegal immigrant Zaza Nutzubidze, 26, had a New Jersey non-domiciled CDL while driving an 18-wheeler, DHS said.

He illegally entered the United States on September 21, 2022, near Calexico, California, and was released into the country that same day.

Mugshot of Zaza Nutzubidze (Credit: ICE)

The issue of illegal immigrants obtaining CDLs entered the national conversation in August after video emerged of a fatal crash.

The man behind the wheel of the semi tractor-trailer, Indian national Harjinder Singh, 35, made an illegal U-turn and killed three people on a Florida turnpike.

Since then, the Trump administration has instituted a crackdown on the issuance of CDLs to illegal immigrants. The Department of Transportation launched an audit of states that issue CDLs and instituted an English-language requirement for truckers.

“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

“Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers — often times illegally,” Duffy added.

“This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it. Today’s actions will prevent unsafe foreign drivers from renewing their license and hold states accountable to immediately invalidate improperly issued licenses.”