California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is facing criticism after wrongly claiming that President Donald Trump allowed into the U.S. a migrant truck driver now charged with vehicular homicide in a Florida crash that killed three Americans.
The driver, Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien from India, entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2018 across the southern border. On August 12, Singh attempted an illegal U-turn across all lanes of the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce, causing a Chrysler Town & Country to slam into his semi-truck trailer. All three occupants of the vehicle were killed.
Officials confirmed that Singh held a commercial driver’s license (CDL) issued in California. Following the tragedy, Newsom defended his state’s policy of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal migrants and attempted to shift blame onto Trump, claiming Singh had been admitted during Trump’s presidency.
However, the Department of Homeland Security refuted this claim. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that Singh had actually been denied a work permit under Trump. It was under President Joe Biden’s lax immigration policies that Singh later obtained legal work authorization, which enabled him to secure a CDL in California.
Newsom’s communications director Izzy Gardon used the official @GovPressOffice account to double down on the false claim, citing a San Francisco Chronicle article. But the piece failed to support Newsom’s narrative, merely noting that those with work permits can obtain CDLs while California prohibits CDLs for illegal migrants without legal status.
Critics argue the real issue is California’s sanctuary policies, which allowed Singh to remain in the U.S. despite being denied under Trump. The unanswered question remains: why was Singh not removed after his denial, and how was he later able to obtain legal work status under Biden?
By deflecting blame onto Trump, Newsom has drawn fire for politicizing a tragedy that highlights the dangers of weak immigration enforcement and the risks posed by sanctuary state policies.
