On August 12, 2025, Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old native of India, attempted to make an illegal U-turn through an “Official Use Only” point in St Lucie County. His reckless blunder soon resulted in fatal ramifications for others. With his 18-wheeler trailer truck blocking all lanes of the highway on the Florida Turnpike, a mini-van crashed into the massive vehicle, instantly killing all three passengers onboard.

Video of the incident, as obtained by Breaking911, was widely circulated and amplified on social media shortly thereafter. It not only captured the very moment Singh allegedly broke the law, but also that he was accompanied by another male passenger, later identified as his brother, Harneet Singh. The Internet was shocked more than ever to spot an unfazed and remorseless Harjinder behind the wheel despite his mistake proving to be deadly for innocent lives.

As per the latest development in the case, St Lucie Country Judge Lauren Sweet has since declared that Singh is an “unauthorised alien” and a “substantial flight risk.” Moreover, he was denied bail. “There are no conditions of release that will ensure your appearance at trial. Therefore, sir, I’m setting your bond on each charge at no bond,” the judge said, according to Fox News.

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Harjinder Singh entered the US illegally

What made matters worse is when US authorities discovered that the Indian truck driver who caused the accident had entered the country illegally via the Mexico border in 2018. A subsequently issued press release detailed that even his brother, Harneet, was an undocumented migrant in the US. Given the severity of the case, US authorities eventually took steps it deemed necessary to curb such incidents, affecting other foreign truck drivers. (More on that below)

According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Department of Homeland Security, an arrest detainer was lodged for Harjinder as he was taken into custody for three counts of vehicular homicide. It was also discovered that the Indian trucker and his brother fled to California from Florida after the incident. However, they were eventually extradited back to Florida following an arrest in the Californian city Stockton. They now face deportation.

Indian trucker’s brush with Trump and Biden administrations before the August 12 accident

Quite early into the investigation, the Florida Highway authorities revealed that Harjinder had even obtained a Commercial Driver’s License in the state of California after crossing into the US unlawfully in 2018.

Officials have since divulged that the 28-year-old trucker failed an English Language Proficiency assessment, giving just 2 correct responses to 12 verbal questions. On top of that, he was only successful in identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs.

Ever since the word got out, the Trump administration and California Governor Gavin Newsom have been up in arms against each other, holding the other responsible for the Indian national having gotten his hands on official documentation when he never should have in the first place.

Soon enough, the New York Post put out a story citing sources that Singh was originally headed for fast-track deportation, and was even processed for removal from America under the first Trump government. Even though applications for his official privileges were rebuffed at the time, he purportedly ended up securing his place in the country by by claiming that he was scared to be sent back home to India. In January 2019, he was released from detention on a $5,000 immigration bond.

Thereafter, Joe Biden came to office, and it is during his term that Singh’s work documents were reportedly processed and handed to him.

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In light of the emerging revelations in the case, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin played her part in hitting back at Newsom’s accusations of giving the “illegal migrant” a work permit and “lying” about it.

On August 18 (IST), she took to her X profile to silence these allegations, saying, “False. Harjinder Singh is in the United States illegally and his work authorization was rejected under the Trump Administration on September 14, 2020. It was later approved under the Biden Administration June 9, 2021. The state of California issues Commercial Drivers Licenses. There is no national CDL. Sincerely, Genius.”

The DHS press release further stated, “Singh obtained a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) in California, despite having no legal right to be in the United States. Governor Newsom put Americans’ lives directly at risk by arming this illegal alien with the ability to operate a 40-ton killing machine on US highways. This reckless policy gave Singh the keys and three innocent people paid with their lives.”

Aftermath: Indian truck driver’s alleged crime brings trouble for foreign truckers

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, announced this week that the United States will stop issuing work visa to some foreign truck driver in the wake of the August 12 tragedy. Essentially banning certain groups from the country, he warned on social media, “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”

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While more details on the issue are awaited, the much-politicised Florida incident has cast doubt on the future of certain foreign individuals seeking employment in America. As per the Associated Press, “it appears that at most a few thousand of the country’s estimated 3.5 million commercial truck drivers would be affected by the new directive.”

Harjinder Singh’s alleged criminal act is expected to impact drivers seeking to apply three types of visas, but most important of all, it will present exceptionally big hurdles in the pathways of those wanting to apply for the H-2B visa meant for temporary workers. These particular visas are mostly capped at 66,000 annually.

The other two impacted visa categories are E-2 and E-3. While the former is for people who make substantial investments in an American business, the other is for skilled workers, including healthcare employees, IT professionals and skilled tradespeople like electricians.