The tragic deaths of three American citizens on a Florida highway are now at the center of a political slugfest between Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office and President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security.
At the heart of the matter is Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India who entered the U.S. in 2018, obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, and caused the deadly wreck by making an illegal U-turn across restricted lanes.
Singh has since been charged with vehicular homicide and slapped with an ICE detainer. The case quickly drew national attention — not only because of the horrific loss of life, but also because of the policies that allowed Singh to be behind the wheel of a commercial truck in the first place.
3 innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License—this state of governance is asinine.
How many more innocent people have to die before @GavinNewsom stops playing games with the safety of the… pic.twitter.com/chT7ln1TTZ
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) August 18, 2025
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin pointed directly at California’s sanctuary-state laws, arguing that the victims would still be alive if Newsom’s government had not extended privileges to individuals in the country illegally.
That’s when Newsom’s press office launched what can only be described as a juvenile attack. In a post littered with snark, they published a graphic mocking McLaughlin: “Hey, genius… the Trump Administration already confirmed this guy meets federal and state immigration requirements — YOU issued him a work permit. As usual, the Trump Administration is either lying or clueless.”
The post even threw in a jab about 2018 being during Trump’s presidency — as if pointing out who occupied the Oval Office at the time of Singh’s illegal entry erased California’s role in giving him a CDL.
False. Harjinder Singh is in the United States illegally and his work authorization was rejected under the Trump Administration on September 14, 2020. It was later approved under the Biden Administration June 9, 2021.
The state of California issues Commercial Drivers Licenses.… https://t.co/4YSs3qIj2B
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) August 18, 2025
But McLaughlin did not let the jab stand. She fired back with receipts. Singh, she explained, had applied for work authorization during Trump’s first term — and it was denied in September 2020. It wasn’t until June 2021, under former President Joe Biden, that Singh’s application was approved, paving the way for him to secure a California commercial driver’s license. Her conclusion landed with unmistakable force: “False… The state of California issues Commercial Drivers Licenses. There is no national CDL. Sincerely, Genius.”
