<\/p>\n
The White House on Monday claimed California policies were behind the deaths of three people in a traffic accident in Florida, but got key facts wrong in describing the situation.<\/p>\n
Alex Brandon\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
SACRAMENTO \u2014 The White House on Monday blamed California\u2019s sanctuary policies for a fatal crash in Florida allegedly caused by an undocumented semitruck driver, even though the Trump administration acknowledged the driver had a federal work permit.<\/p>\n
And while it\u2019s true that California enabled immigrants without legal status to obtain driver\u2019s licenses more than a decade ago, that law did not extend to commercial trucking licenses.<\/p>\n
The accusation prompted a new round of fighting between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and became the latest tragedy to stand in for the broader debate about immigration. It appeared that once again the White House got key facts wrong as it attempted to seize on a devastating accident to harness public sympathy for its efforts to swiftly remove thousands of immigrants from the country.<\/p>\n
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The White House has targeted California in particular as it carries out its deportation campaign, including by sending military troops into Los Angeles, and through an incident last week in which Border Patrol officials crashed a Newsom news conference.<\/p>\n
Harjinder Singh, 28, of Stockton, was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide following the deaths of three people on the Florida turnpike last week. Florida Highway Patrol said Singh, the driver of the semitruck, \u201crecklessly, and without regard for the safety of others\u201d attempted an illegal U-turn and\u00a0was struck by\u00a0a minivan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe illegal alien is an Indian national who was granted a commercial driver\u2019s license by the so-called \u2018sanctuary state\u2019 of California, whose reckless policies put the lives of American citizens at risk every single day,\u201d White House staff wrote in a news release Monday morning. \u201cBut instead of acknowledging the tragedy, criminal illegal alien sympathizer\u00a0Gavin Newsom callously doubled down, claiming that giving driver\u2019s licenses to illegals \u2018improves public safety.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Singh, however, was granted a federal work permit and appears to have an ongoing asylum claim allowing him to legally remain in the country while it makes its way through court. A copy of Singh\u2019s most recent federal work permit obtained by the Chronicle shows it was issued April 9 and will expire in 2030. The document also shows Singh had an ongoing asylum case when it was issued.<\/p>\n
The California Department of Motor Vehicles granted Singh a commercial driver\u2019s license in compliance with \u201call federal and state laws\u201d after confirming his legal status in the United States, DMV spokesperson Jonathan Groveman said. Singh provided the required documents, which the DMV confirmed through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system. Groveman also noted that Singh\u2019s commercial license is a REAL ID, further evidence that the federal government had confirmed his legal status.<\/p>\n
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The White House\u2019s characterization of Singh echoed similar accusations made by Florida law enforcement officials about the accident days earlier.<\/p>\n
Florida troopers said during the criminal investigation\u00a0\u2014 which was assisted by ICE\u00a0\u2014 that investigators determined Singh entered the country illegally by crossing the Mexico border in 2018. The Florida Highway Patrol said he obtained his commercial driving license in the state of California.<\/p>\n
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom, confirmed that Singh had a commercial driver\u2019s license, but blamed the Trump administration for granting Singh a work permit, which allowed him to obtain the license.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would have been eligible in any state,\u201d she wrote. \u201cCalifornia followed federal law, something the President knows nothing about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security official, said on X, however, that the Trump administration rejected a work permit for Singh in 2020. The permit was later approved under the Biden administration in 2021, she said. The document obtained by the Chronicle shows Singh’s work permit was renewed in April, under Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s standard for states to accept federal working permits granted through the asylum process as sufficient proof of residency for a commercial driver\u2019s license. The license would also only be granted by a state DMV after the individual passed safety tests and exams. Trucking jobs are popular among immigrants, including those going through the asylum process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn asylum seeker under federal law is eligible for work authorization six months after the application is filed,\u201d said Kevin R. Johnson, an attorney and dean of the\u00a0UC Davis School of Law. \u201cI am not precisely sure what the Trump administration is arguing here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Texas, for example, a noncitizen can meet the requirements for a commercial driver\u2019s license if they have valid employment authorization documents that come through the asylum process, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems to me that President Trump is blaming California law that he does not like for an unfortunate traffic accident,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIn my mind, blaming the accident on the \u2018sanctuary laws\u2019 is akin to blaming immigrants for crimes. The accident is tragic. Crime is tragic. But immigration status is not the central issue that caused the tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
California lawmakers in 2013 passed a law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver\u2019s licenses. But that law explicitly does not apply to commercial licenses, a higher level of certification required for commercial truck drivers.<\/p>\n
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California separately has a\u00a0sanctuary state law that limits when local and state law enforcement authorities can cooperate with federal immigration agents. While that law did not come into play for Singh\u2019s arrest because the alleged crime took place in Florida, it would not prevent California law enforcement officials from turning over an immigrant to federal authorities if a similar crash had happened here, because the law includes broad exceptions for serious crimes, including vehicular homicide.<\/p>\n
Both laws were signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown, Newsom\u2019s predecessor.<\/p>\n
David Kerner, the head of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said Singh was in custody on homicide charges and immigration violations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will no longer be able to damage and destroy the lives of\u00a0Floridians and visitors,\u201d Kerner said in a statement. \u201cAt the conclusion of his state charges, he will be deported. The Florida Highway Patrol remains committed to enforcing both state and federal law to ensure that people that are a danger to others face justice behind bars.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Florida troopers responded to the crash on the afternoon of Aug. 12 on Florida\u2019s Turnpike in St. Lucie County. Singh\u2019s semitruck was traveling north and began making a U-turn at an \u201cofficial use only\u201d turnaround, which crossed all northbound lanes. Troopers said in a statement that the minivan\u2019s 30-year-old driver was unable to avoid the truck. The left side of the trailer was struck by the van, wedging it beneath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The van\u2019s passengers, 37 and 54, died at the scene. The driver died a couple of hours later from his injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The White House on Monday claimed California policies were behind the deaths of three people in a traffic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4535,28,30,29,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-4084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}