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Harmeet Dhillon denounces bias against Sikhs after fatal truck crashes
Two fatal road accidents involving undocumented Indian-origin drivers have triggered debate over California’s licensing policies and rising discrimination.
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Pranavi Sharma - Mon, 27, Oct 2025
- 23:55 EDT
- 39
U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Kaur Dhillon. / Facebook
U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Kaur Dhillon said that recent public anger over two deadly truck crashes involving undocumented immigrants must not translate into hostility against law-abiding Sikh and Indian-origin truck drivers.
“Unfortunately, in the fog of outrage, some are using these tragedies as an opportunity to attack law-abiding Sikhs and Indian-origin drivers, simply because of who they are,” Dhillon said in a statement this week. She emphasized that most of these drivers are hard-working, patriotic Americans who either immigrated legally or were born in the country. “They are our neighbors, our friends, and provide a legal and vital service. They believe in the American dream, and the rule of law upon which that dream was built,” she added.
Dhillon, an Indian-origin American lawyer and Republican Party official appointed to head the Civil Rights Division in 2025, was responding to online backlash and reports of bias incidents following two recent crashes that drew national attention.
In September, two passengers and a driver were killed in Florida after a truck, driven by Harjinder Singh, collided with a minivan. Homeland Security later confirmed that Singh was in the United States illegally, having crossed the border from Mexico in 2018.
Earlier this month, in Ontario, California, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh was arrested after his semi-truck slammed into an SUV, triggering a chain-reaction crash that killed three people and injured four. ABC7 News reported that Singh entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and had been living in Yuba City.
ALSO READ: ICE arrests Indian national driving 18-wheeler with ‘no name’ license
Dhillon criticized California’s policies that allow undocumented immigrants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses, calling them “absurd coddling of illegal aliens” that endanger public safety. She said she had discussed the issue with Transportation Secretary Duffy, who is “taking steps to end these risks".
At the same time, Dhillon warned against misdirected anger toward law-abiding communities. “These Americans are not responsible for the actions of the two reckless men behind the wheels of those trucks, and they must not shoulder the blame,” she said.
Reaffirming the Justice Department’s stance, Dhillon stated, “It is illegal under federal law to discriminate against individuals or attack or violently threaten them because of their race, color, religion, or national origin. The Civil Rights Division will aggressively prosecute or pursue justice against those engaged in such discrimination.”
She called for restraint and accountability. “Those responsible for these tragedies must pay for their misdeeds. So, too, should the State of California, for enacting reckless policies. But innocent and law-abiding citizens and workers of all backgrounds are entitled to the protection of federal law, and we will protect them.”
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