A fatal road accident in Florida involving an Indian-origin truck driver has triggered a nationwide political storm in the United States, prompting the Trump administration to immediately suspend the issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers. The move, announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, has intensified an already heated debate on immigration, road safety, and state–federal responsibility.

“Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He argued that the “increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.” The suspect, Harjinder Singh, an Indian citizen aged 32, was taken into custody and charged with vehicular manslaughter. Federal officials also disclosed that Singh had entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018 and was waiting for a decision on his asylum claim.

What Happened In Florida?

As per the Florida Highway Patrol, the accident occurred approximately 80 kilometers north of West Palm Beach. Singh, operating a semi-truck with a box trailer, made a U-turn in an "official use only" section of the Florida Turnpike. A minivan, which was traveling at high speed, crashed into the trailer and got stuck underneath. Three passengers in the minivan were killed instantly and some others suffered injuries. Investigators labeled Singh's move as "gross negligence" since he had flunked a post-crash English proficiency test. He now faces three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida, in addition to federal immigration violations. Singh was extradited from California to Florida earlier this week, with the state’s lieutenant governor personally accompanying immigration officials during the transfer.

The event has also escalated into a bitter political battle between California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Trump administration. The White House accused California of being reckless, alleging that Singh earned his Commercial Driver's License (CDL) in California despite being an undocumented immigrant. "Three innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom's California DMV issued an illegal alien a CDL. This is reckless and dangerous," a White House official said. California officials countered, however, that Singh had entered the state during Trump's time in office in 2018 and was released on an immigration bond of USD 5,000 after seeking asylum. "Commercial licenses in California are given only to applicants with legal presence," Newsom's office wrote in a statement. "Singh's presence in the US was a direct result of federal immigration enforcement failures under Trump's administration."

Debate Over Immigrant Truck Drivers

The tragedy has rekindled a wider national controversy about granting driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. Federal reports indicate that the number of foreign-born truck drivers in the United States doubled from 2000 to 2021 and totaled 720,000. Foreign-born drivers now constitute approximately 18 percent of the workforce in the trucking industry. Though most are from Latin America, there have been increasing numbers from India, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe in recent years. The Transportation Department led by Secretary Sean Duffy has already made English-language requirements for truck drivers stricter. Previous Obama-era regulations had provided some discretion in enforcement, but those were dismantled in June. "Truck drivers should be able to read and comprehend English road signs.". Road safety is reliant on it," Duffy stated in June, several weeks before the Florida accident.

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Harjinder Singh is still in custody in Florida and is to face a criminal trial for vehicular manslaughter and deportation proceedings once the case is finished. Federal authorities have confirmed that after state charges are resolved, Singh will be sent to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal proceedings.

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The case is now being viewed not only as a criminal one, but as a signature flash point in the ongoing battle in America over immigration, state versus national power, and the political struggle between President Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom of California.

With inputs from agencies.