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US pauses worker visas for commercial truck drivers after Florida crash that killed three
Harjinder Singh, identified as an Indian who illegally entered the US, was behind the wheel when the accident in Florida killed three.
The United States government is pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers ‘effective immediately’. The announcement was made on X by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” he said.
Big move after Florida accident
The move comes after the August 12 accident in Florida which claimed the lives of three people. Harjinder Singh, an Indian, was behind the wheel at the time, and subsequently, details have emerged that he entered the US illegally.
Singh crossed the Mexico border illegally in 2018 and got a commercial driver's license in California, the Florida Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) said.
He is said to have been driving ‘recklessly, and without regard for the safety of others’. He was trying to take a U-turn in an unauthorized area, when the accident took place. Since then, there has been a lot of outcry over an illegal immigrant causing an accident that claimed American lives. The Department of Homeland Security even weighed in on the matter and announced that Singh had been denied a work permit during Donald Trump's first term in office, but managed to secure one under the Joe Biden administration.
Also Read | Florida truck crash by Indian driver sparks row between Trump adminstration, California governor
California Governor Gavin Newsom has also been caught up in a political battle over Singh getting a license from his state. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin hit out at the Democrat, saying “Three innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California Department of Motor Vehicles issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License—this state of governance is asinine. How many more innocent people must die before Gavin Newsom stops playing games with the safety of the American public? We pray for the victims and their families. Secretary Noem and DHS are working around the clock to protect the public and get these criminal illegal aliens out of America.”
Meanwhile, it has been announced that Singh will be deported after he faces trial for his actions.
