Indian illegal immigrant trucker arrested for killing 2 people in California crash

Fox News’ Bill Melugin first reported that federal officials identified the suspect as Manvir Singh, who DHS says entered the United States illegally through Arizona in 2023 before being released into the country by the Biden administration.

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The crash occurred near Lodi, California, at approximately 12:20 pm when Singh allegedly lost control of his truck, skidded off the roadway, and struck a guardrail, according to reports citing the California Highway Patrol. The collision triggered a multi-vehicle crash involving three additional vehicles. Two people were killed in the crash. Authorities say Singh attempted to flee the scene on foot before deputies with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office apprehended him.

DHS said Singh now faces multiple charges, including vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, and resisting or obstructing a police officer. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer request seeking his transfer into federal custody. It is unclear if authorities plan to honor the detainer, as California is a so-called “sanctuary state.”

“This criminal illegal alien from India should never have been behind the wheel of a semi-truck and allowed to kill two innocent people in a multi-vehicle crash in California,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News. “This is yet another example of why illegal aliens should not be operating trucks on American highways. We need Congress to pass Dalilah’s Law to prohibit states from granting illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses.”

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Dalilah’s Law, referenced by DHS officials, would prohibit states from issuing commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrants. The proposed legislation is named after Dalilah Coleman, a young girl who suffered severe injuries in a 2024 California crash allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant driver.

The California crash is the latest in a string of deadly and high-profile incidents involving immigrant truck drivers that have fueled calls for stricter federal oversight of commercial licensing programs. According to DHS, the driver is now the fourth illegal immigrant truck driver with the surname “Singh” involved in a fatal crash in the past year, as federal officials continue raising concerns about foreign-born commercial drivers operating on American roads.

Earlier in 2026, DHS announced the arrest of Indian national Sukhdev Singh after he allegedly struck a pedestrian with a semi-truck in Indianapolis, leaving the victim in critical condition. Federal officials said Singh had been issued a commercial driver’s license by the state of New York despite allegedly being in the country illegally.

In another widely publicized case, Indian national Harjinder Singh was arrested in Florida on three counts of vehicular homicide after authorities said he attempted an illegal U-turn through an “Official Use Only” access point, blocking traffic and causing a crash that killed three people. Federal investigators later said Singh failed an English proficiency test and struggled to identify basic traffic signs during questioning.

Washington state has also seen multiple fatal crashes involving immigrant truck drivers. In one case, Kamalpreet Singh was arrested after authorities said his tractor-trailer slammed into stopped traffic, killing a 29-year-old man. Investigators alleged the driver failed to brake before impact and falsified his electronic driving logs.

Federal officials have also pointed to a fatal Pennsylvania crash in February in which an illegal immigrant truck driver allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic and struck a van head-on, killing four people.

In Oregon, ICE arrested another illegal immigrant truck driver accused of killing a newly married couple in a 2025 crash after local authorities in a sanctuary jurisdiction reportedly released him before federal agents later took him into custody.

Another case highlighted by DHS involved a Chinese national who allegedly failed an English proficiency test after a fatal crash that killed an American citizen. Federal officials said the driver had entered the United States from Mexico in 2023 and later obtained a CDL.

Separate scrutiny emerged in Washington after state officials acknowledged that nearly 700 commercial driver’s licenses were mistakenly issued to non-citizens over a seven-year period who were not legally qualified to receive them.

The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation have increasingly linked the crashes to broader concerns over commercial licensing standards, English-language requirements, and the ability of states to properly vet foreign-born drivers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pushed for tighter federal oversight of CDL programs while ramping up enforcement of English-language proficiency standards during roadside inspections. The administration has also revoked thousands of trucking school certifications and threatened to withhold federal transportation funding from states accused of failing to properly enforce licensing requirements.

The crackdown comes as the Trump administration moves forward with a new federal rule that will ultimately prevent roughly 200,000 migrants with temporary legal protections, including asylum seekers, refugees, and DACA recipients, from renewing or obtaining commercial driver’s licenses. Federal officials argue the changes are necessary to improve roadway safety and prevent unqualified drivers from operating large commercial vehicles on American highways.

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