Criminal Illegal Aliens Being Issued Commercial Vehicle Licenses: White House On California Crash

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 02:23 IST

Leavitt accused California of issuing a CDL to Jashanpreet Singh, who killed three in a crash. ICE lodged a detainer. Sean Duffy criticised California's licensing standards.

US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday accused California of giving a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to an illegal alien who killed three people in a major crash.

Leavitt pointed out a disturbing pattern of criminal illegal aliens being issued commercial vehicle licenses.

“I can confirm that California gave this individual a license, and it is something that the Department of Transportation has already looked into. Secretary Duffy has spoken on this many times in the crackdown that the Department of Transportation is taking on these licenses that are wrongfully being issued to people who clearly do not deserve to uphold these positions," she told reporters.

She further said: “As for this case in California, on October 22, ICE lodged an immigration detainer for this individual following his arrest by local authorities in California on charges of manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence."

“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. ICE has lodged a separate detainer for this individual. And these tragedies are following a disturbing pattern of these criminal illegal aliens being issued commercial vehicle licenses. The Department of Transportation is absolutely cracking down on that," she added.

This was after a 21-year-old Indian national was arrested in Southern California for causing a fiery crash that killed at least three people. He was allegedly driving an 18-wheeler truck under the influence.

The accused has been identified as Jashanpreet Singh. According to the police, Singh’s semi-truck plowed into slow-moving traffic on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County, killing three people and injuring several others.

Dashcam footage revealed that the truck did not brake before the collision, while toxicology reports confirmed that Singh was under the influence of a substance at the time of the crash.

As per the Department of Homeland Security, Singh was not a lawful immigrant and that ICE has lodged a detainer following his arrest. He faces multiple charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Singh had illegally entered the US through the southern border in 2022 and was released under the Biden administration’s “alternatives to detention" policy while awaiting an immigration hearing, Fox News reported.

The incident occurs amid increasing scrutiny of commercial driver licensing standards for non-citizens. In August, another Indian national, Harjinder Singh, who had entered the US illegally in 2018 and obtained a California commercial driver’s license, was charged in Florida for a crash that also claimed three lives.

Recently, transportation secretary Sean Duffy criticised California for failing to enforce federal English proficiency requirements for truck drivers, warning that the federal government would withhold over $40 million in highway safety funds as a result.

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