White House Condemns California for Licensing "Illegal" Indian Truck Driver in Fatal Crash

Singh is scheduled for arraignment on Friday.

The White House has criticized California for issuing a commercial vehicle license to a "criminal illegal alien" after an undocumented Indian-origin truck driver, Jashanpreet Singh, caused a deadly eight-vehicle crash in Ontario that resulted in three fatalities. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized what she described as a "disturbing pattern" of commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) being issued to illegal immigrants across the United States.

Addressing a press conference, Leavitt stated, "I can confirm that California gave this individual a license, and it is something that the Department of Transportation has already investigated. He killed three people, and he first entered the United States in 2022 through the southern border, and he was released into our country by the previous administration."

Leavitt further noted, "Now ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has lodged a separate detainer for this individual. These tragedies are following a disturbing pattern of criminal illegal aliens being issued commercial vehicle licenses. The Department of Transportation is absolutely cracking down on that."

Singh, a 21-year-old semi-truck driver, is accused of driving under the influence of drugs and causing a fiery collision that killed three individuals on a Southern California freeway. According to US Homeland Security officials, he was in America illegally.

The White House Press Secretary mentioned that the Transportation Department has begun intensifying enforcement against noncitizens obtaining commercial driver's licenses following a similar incident last month.

"Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who's performing excellently, has addressed this issue repeatedly regarding the Department of Transportation's crackdown on licenses wrongfully issued to people who clearly shouldn't hold these positions," she explained.

"Regarding this California case, on October 22, ICE filed an immigration detainer for this individual following his arrest by local California authorities on charges of manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence," Leavitt added.

Singh was arrested and detained after Tuesday's crash in Ontario, California, which also injured four people. He faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing injury.

The arraignment for Singh is scheduled for Friday. According to the district attorney's office, he has not yet secured legal representation.

Singh, a California resident from Yuba City, originally comes from Punjab. Homeland Security confirmed Thursday via X that he entered the US illegally across the southern border in 2022.

Dashcam footage from Singh's tractor-trailer captured the truck crashing into what appears to be a small white SUV in the freeway's center lane. The truck continued forward, colliding with several other vehicles, including another truck, before crossing two lanes and crashing into an already-disabled truck on the freeway's right shoulder.

This incident prompted Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to reaffirm earlier concerns about eligibility requirements for commercial driver's licenses. Both Duffy and President Donald Trump have been emphasizing this issue and criticizing California since a fatal crash in Florida in August was caused by an immigrant truck driver who, according to the Trump administration, was in the country illegally.

Last month, the Transportation Department significantly restricted noncitizen eligibility for commercial driver's licenses. Duffy asserted that this week's crash could have been prevented if Governor Newsom had implemented these new regulations.

"These people deserve justice. There will be consequences," Duffy stated.

In response, Newsom's office maintained that the federal government had approved Singh's federal employment authorization multiple times, which permitted him to obtain a commercial driver's license in compliance with federal law.