Chinese migrant charged in fatal Tennessee bus crash entered US illegally

The Chinese national charged in a deadly tour bus crash on a Tennessee highway entered the United States illegally before later obtaining a commercial driver’s license in New York.

Huang Yisong, 54, crossed the US-Mexico border illegally in 2023 and was released under the Biden administration, according to the New York Post. He later obtained a New York commercial driver’s license.

“Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to the outlet. “And yet, sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses.”

Yisong was arrested following a crash on Interstate 40 West that killed a 31-year-old truck driver and injured at least a dozen others. Authorities allege Yisong was driving a tour bus on December 9 when he became distracted while watching a video on his phone and struck a tractor-trailer. The initial collision set off a series of crashes involving multiple vehicles, including a truck hitting an 18-wheeler that then hit a passenger vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. 

At the scene, Yisong failed an English proficiency test, according to authorities. He was taken into custody on vehicular homicide charges. 

Yisong admitted to Border Patrol agents that he entered the country illegally but was then released with work authorization and a special security card, allowing him to apply for a New York state commercial driver’s license. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed Wednesday that it approved Yisong for a license, which was issued on April 11, 2025.

The case is the latest example cited by the Trump administration as it moves to crack down on illegal immigrants obtaining commercial licenses in sanctuary states.

“The Trump Administration is ending the chaos,” Noem said. “The brave men and women of ICE are working nonstop to get criminal illegal aliens out of our communities and off our roads.”

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also threatened to withhold $73 million in federal highway funding from New York after an audit found foreign-born drivers have been regularly receiving licenses.

“It’s not just that Joe Biden let millions of migrants flood into our country illegally,” Duffy said, per the Post. “his administration doled out the documentation these unqualified foreign drivers needed to obtain trucking licenses and operate 40-ton missiles on the highway.”

New York’s DMV previously defended issuing Yisong a license after he presented documentation deemed valid under federal guidelines.

“Let’s be clear: Regulating commercial driver licenses is a federal responsibility,” the agency said. “It is the height of hypocrisy for leaders in Washington to place blame at the states for following federal rules.”