Most of us don't need to be reminded about how totally screwed up our immigration system is. But even someone completely jaded about illegal aliens and the way they can game the system needs to read about Harjinder Singh and how he was able to legally drive an 18-wheeler in the U.S. The fact that he was on the road, ignorant of U.S. traffic rules and unable to read English, led directly to the death of three Americans on a Florida highway.
This was a nationwide clusterfark. From Washington state to California, and down to Florida, Mr. Singh was able to acquire a commercial truck license despite his English deficiency and inability to recognize the meaning of road signs.
"The driver failed the English Language Proficiency assessment, getting two of 12 verbal questions correct and accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway signs during an on-site compliance investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, according to DOT," Politico reported.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Singh decided to pull an illegal U-turn while driving down a highway about 50 miles from West Palm Beach. A minivan, driving in the neighboring lane, was unable to avoid the truck's trailer and slammed into it at high speed, killing the driver and two passengers.
Singh, driving with a passenger (a violation of Florida law), was uninjured.
For reasons that are unclear, the state of Florida allowed Singh to board a plane for California after the accident. The state petitioned California to extradite him to Florida.
The extradition turned into a circus as the war between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom heated up over California's role in this tragedy. The two likely candidates for their respective parties' presidential nominations have been sniping at each other for the last year.
DeSantis sent Florida’s new Lt. Gov. Jay Collins to California and made a big show of picking Singh up and escorting him to the plane.
“Three lives lost because of Gavin Newsom. Because of California’s failed policies,” Collins repeated Thursday at a press conference near the Stockton Airport.
“We’re done with that s**t," Collins added.
Florida authorities said Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018. According to Homeland Security, Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, which is one of 19 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that issue licenses regardless of immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
Collins said Thursday that Singh never should have been issued a driver’s license, calling the move “unacceptable.” Collins said Singh lacks basic English proficiency and did not know the road signs.
Newsom’s press office responded on the X platform that Singh obtained a work permit while Donald Trump was president. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin disputed that, saying the federal government denied him a permit during Trump’s first term in September 2020 and granted him one in June 2021, under President Joe Biden.
The Transportation Department found that Washington state issued Singh a regular full-term commercial driver’s license in July 2023, even though that kind of license should be unavailable to illegal aliens.
A year later, California issued a "limited-term commercial license." It's unclear whether California complied with government regulations when issuing the license.
In response to the murders of three Americans by an illegal alien driver, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stopped issuing employment visas for all truck drivers.
“Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio posted on X. “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”
The string of errors that led to the deadly crash in Florida included Singh being stopped by New Mexico state police on July 3, 2025.
DOT also said that on July, 3, after Duffy signed the order to strengthen English proficiency standards among commercial truck drivers, state police in New Mexico did a roadside inspection of Singh and gave him a speeding ticket, but the agency says police didn’t administer an English language test.
“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Duffy said when he announced the inquiry. “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles.”
Washington is a very blue state. California is a very blue state. New Mexico is a very blue state.
Are we detecting a pattern here?
Help PJ Media continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration's accomplishments as we continue to usher in the Golden Era of America. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.