ICE lodges detainer for Haitian illegal alien with Massachusetts CDL charged with killing PA state trooper in crash

A Haitian illegal alien who was issued a Massachusetts Commercial Driver's License (CDL) has been arrested after allegedly causing a semi-truck crash that killed a veteran Pennsylvania State Trooper, prompting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to lodge an immigration detainer against him.

Michael Bon, a Haitian national, was arrested following the July 1 crash in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Authorities allege Bon's tractor-trailer struck Trooper Michael Pahira, who was inspecting another commercial vehicle along I-81 South. Pahira, a nearly 20-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, later died from his injuries.

Bon has been charged with vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter. ICE lodged a detainer one day after his arrest, requesting that Pennsylvania authorities notify the agency before any potential release from custody.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Bon entered the United States after being released by the Biden administration in July 2024. He later applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in October 2024, but DHS said that application "was never granted." Despite that, Bon obtained a Massachusetts-issued Commercial Driver's License, a fact DHS highlighted in announcing the immigration detainer.

"This Haitian illegal alien was RELEASED into our country by the Biden Administration, and the sanctuary state of Massachusetts gave him a Commercial Driver's License," Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. "Now, because of these reckless policies, a Pennsylvania State Trooper is dead after a crash that was 100% preventable. Illegal aliens should not be driving trucks on America's highways. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and the Pennsylvania State Police as they mourn this loss."

The case is the latest in a string of high-profile crashes involving commercial truck drivers whose immigration status or commercial licensing has come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, Manvir Singh, an Indian national who federal prosecutors alleged was in the United States illegally when he was involved in a California crash that killed two people. Singh was later charged federally with illegal reentry after authorities alleged he remained in the country unlawfully while working as a commercial truck driver.

In another case, Sukhdev Singh was charged after allegedly causing a serious crash in Indianapolis that left another driver critically injured. Federal prosecutors alleged Singh fraudulently obtained a Commercial Driver's License after he was no longer legally authorized to remain in the United States.

Earlier this year, Washington officials acknowledged that approximately 700 commercial driver's licenses had been issued in error to applicants who were not legally eligible because of a state licensing system mistake. State officials later revised their procedures to comply with updated federal regulations governing CDL eligibility.

The Trump administration has since moved to tighten commercial licensing requirements for non-citizens, while federal immigration authorities have increasingly pursued criminal immigration charges against truck drivers accused of remaining in the country illegally or fraudulently obtaining commercial driver's licenses.

If convicted on the Pennsylvania charges, Bon would still face immigration proceedings after completion of any criminal sentence. ICE's detainer requests that state authorities transfer him into federal custody rather than release him back into the community.