【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

Recently, a Indian-American truck driver caused chaos across the United States.

On August 12, a truck caused an accident in Florida, resulting in three deaths. After being arrested in California, the truck driver, Harjinder Singh, was found to be an illegal immigrant of Indian origin, "not speaking English," yet he obtained a driver's license successively in Washington State and California.

At once, this accident sparked heated discussions nationwide, with foreign drivers becoming a focal point of debate between the two major parties in the United States. The Republicans seized the opportunity to hype up issues regarding immigration and foreign worker visas. Florida directed its criticism towards California Governor Newsom, stating that it would seek to extradite the driver to Florida.

The response from the Trump administration pushed the public opinion to another peak. On August 21 local time, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced the suspension of work visa issuance for truck drivers. Previously, the U.S. Transportation Secretary had vowed to strictly control the "English proficiency" of truck drivers.

Video screenshot of the driver Singh appearing in court on the 19th

"From now on, we will suspend the issuance of work visas for all commercial truck drivers," Rubio announced on the social media platform X on the 21st, "More and more foreign drivers are driving trucks on American roads, not only endangering the lives of Americans but also damaging the livelihoods of American truck drivers."

According to reports by U.S. political news website Politico and Associated Press, this is the latest measure in a series of actions taken by the Trump administration to crack down on foreign laborers. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated earlier that in order to ensure safety, strict enforcement of English language standards for truck drivers would be carried out.

Axios news website pointed out that drivers born abroad are an important part of the American trucking industry. Data showed that about 18% of current truck drivers were immigrants last year. The report said that Rubio's order may not directly affect the status of these drivers, but could prevent new drivers from entering the industry or hinder existing drivers from renewing their licenses.

Screenshot of Rubio's tweet

The report noted that this move was announced following the fatal accident on August 12 on a Florida toll road.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's investigation, a truck caused an accident on the Florida highway due to "illegal U-turn," resulting in three deaths.

The investigation found that the driver, Harjinder Singh, obtained a regular long-term commercial driver's license in Washington State in July 2023, although he did not meet the qualification criteria. The investigation also showed that he obtained a non-resident commercial driver's license in California in July 2024.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that Harjinder Singh is an Indian national who entered the country illegally.

In April this year, President Trump signed an executive order requiring the Department of Transportation to ensure that drivers who do not meet the English language standards cannot drive on the roads. Duffy required on May to strengthen the English language standards for truck drivers and conduct a nationwide audit of states issuing non-resident commercial driver's licenses to non-U.S. citizens.

However, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Singh failed the English language test during a site compliance inspection by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, answering only two out of 12 oral questions correctly, and identifying only one of four highway sign identification tests.

Duffy stated when announcing the investigation, "If the states strictly followed the rules, this driver would never have been on the road, and three precious lives would not have been lost. This accident was a preventable tragedy, directly caused by reckless decisions and shocking failures."

The Associated Press pointed out that this accident incident has exacerbated the immigration disputes between Florida's Republican Governor DeSantis and California's Democratic Governor Newsom. Florida strongly criticized California's governance of illegal immigration as inadequate, citing that the driver had obtained a driver's license in California.

On the morning of the 21st, the Florida Deputy Governor personally extradited Singh to Florida, media

"Because of Newsom and the failure of California's policies, three people died," on the 21st, Florida Deputy Governor Jay Collins said at a press conference, stating that he would personally extradite Singh from California to Florida.

Newsom's spokesperson described Collins' visit to California as "showboating" and criticized Florida officials for allowing a "murder suspect" to go free. According to reports, Singh fled to California after causing the accident in Florida on the 12th and was eventually arrested in California on the 16th.

On the morning of the 21st local time, Singh was extradited back to Florida for trial. U.S. officials said that Singh would be deported after the case was concluded.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Net, and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7541368501768880692/

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