Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Oct 24: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday highlighted a “disturbing pattern” of illegal immigrants being issued commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), following a fatal crash in California involving 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, an illegal immigrant from India. Singh has been charged after a fiery pile-up on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County killed three people and injured four others.
Leavitt criticized California for issuing a CDL to Singh, who drove under the influence, and confirmed that the Department of Transportation (DoT) has launched an investigation into the license issuance. “Secretary Duffy has been cracking down on licenses being wrongfully issued to people who clearly should not hold such positions,” she said during a White House briefing.
Singh entered the US illegally through the southern border in 2022 and was released under the Biden administration’s “alternatives to detention” policy pending an immigration hearing. Following his arrest, ICE lodged a detainer against him. Dashcam footage showed Singh’s semi-truck striking multiple vehicles without braking, leading to the fatalities.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized California’s licensing policies, saying the state’s failure to enforce federal English-language requirements for truck drivers has created safety risks. “This tragedy wouldn’t have happened if Governor Newsom had followed the new rules,” Duffy said, noting that the federal government will withhold $40 million in highway safety funds from California for noncompliance.
California officials countered that Singh had federal work authorization approved multiple times, allowing him to legally obtain a commercial license.
The crash follows a similar incident in Florida involving Harjinder Singh, another Indian national who entered the US illegally in 2018 and was charged in a truck crash that killed three people. The cases have intensified the debate over immigration, licensing, and road safety in the US trucking industry, where nearly one in five long-haul drivers are immigrants, according to the American Trucking Associations.