Illegal immigrant truck driver charged with DUI, killing 3 people in California crash was released into US under Biden

According to Fox News, the suspect, Jashanpreet Singh, was first apprehended by Border Patrol in California’s El Centro Sector in March 2022. Rather than being detained, Singh was released into the interior of the US pending an immigration hearing, a process that can take years due to the massive backlog in immigration courts.

Singh has now been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after plowing his big rig into slow-moving traffic on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County, per CBS News. Dashcam video captured the moment the truck failed to slow down before slamming into vehicles, causing a fiery chain-reaction crash that left at least three people dead and several more injured. Toxicology reports confirmed Singh was impaired at the time of the crash, according to police.

Department of Homeland Security sources confirmed that Singh remains in the country unlawfully and that ICE has filed an immigration detainer following his arrest.

The Singh case mirrors the incident involving another illegal alien truck driver, Harjinder Singh, who crossed the southern border illegally in 2018, obtained a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in Washington and California despite failing both English and road sign tests.

He was charged in August after making an illegal U-turn on a highway that caused a crash in Fort Pierce, Florida, and killed three people.

That incident exposed widespread irregularities in how several states issue CDLs, including California and Washington, both of which have come under federal and legal scrutiny for allowing unqualified or undocumented applicants to obtain commercial licenses.

Earlier this month, the State of Florida filed a federal lawsuit against California and Washington, alleging that both states had knowingly violated federal law by issuing CDLs to individuals who were not US citizens or permanent residents and who could not demonstrate English proficiency, a direct violation of 49 CFR § 383.133, which requires drivers to read and speak English to operate commercial vehicles.

Florida’s lawsuit accuses both states of endangering public safety and creating a “pipeline of unqualified foreign drivers” by ignoring federal standards. The complaint specifically cited the Skyline CDL scandal, in which investigators uncovered a bribery scheme involving fraudulent test results and unqualified drivers who never took their road exams.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in the filing that California and Washington’s failures “exported danger across state lines,” creating conditions for deadly accidents like the Fort Pierce and San Bernardino County crashes.

“When states refuse to follow the law, the consequences are measured in lives lost,” Moody said. “We cannot have 40-ton trucks piloted by people who can’t read warning signs or communicate with police on our highways.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reinforced Florida’s concerns in an October 15 statement, warning that states ignoring federal English-language and eligibility requirements would face financial consequences.

“I put states on notice this summer: enforce the Trump Administration’s English language requirements or the checks stop coming,” Duffy said. “California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s roads.”

Following that warning, the Trump administration announced it would withhold more than $40 million in federal highway safety funding from California for failing to comply with English proficiency standards for truck drivers. Washington state remains under federal review for similar violations.