An Indian man accused of killing two individuals in a horrific highway crash entered the United States unlawfully under the Biden administration.
Rajinder Kumar, who was arrested in late November for allegedly causing a fatal accident along an Oregon highway, is an Indian national who entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2022 before obtaining a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The highway accident in Oregon was just the latest fatal crash allegedly caused by an illegal migrant truck driver released into the country by the Biden administration and given a CDL by California officials.
“Rajinder Kumar, a criminal illegal alien from India, was released into our country under the Biden administration and issued a commercial driver’s license by Gavin Newsom’s Department of Motor Vehicles,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement shared with the DCNF.
“How many more senseless tragedies must take place before sanctuary politicians stop allowing illegal aliens to dangerously operate 18-wheelers on America’s roads?” McLaughlin continued. “Our prayers are with William and Jennifer’s family.
Rajinder Kumar. DHS image.
The 32-year-old Kumar allegedly jackknifed his semi-trailer and blocked both lanes along Highway 20 in Deschutes County on Nov. 26, according to Oregon State Police. A Subaru Outback collided with the semi-trailer, killing both the driver, William Micah Carter, and a passenger, Jennifer Lynn Lower.
Kumar has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, according to the Oregon State Police. He was reportedly left uninjured from the accident.
The Indian national unlawfully crossed the southern border near Lukeville, Arizona, in November 2022 and was released by the Biden administration, according to DHS. The following year, he was given work authorization by Biden officials and issued a CDL by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer for Kumar, according to DHS. He is currently being detained at the Deschutes County jail.
The entire state of Oregon is considered a sanctuary haven for illegal migrant criminals due to statewide policies that restrict cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement.
“Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue its efforts to get illegal alien truck drivers off America’s highways,” McLaughlin said Monday.Â
A growing slate of deadly highway accidents has prompted the Trump administration to take action against states improperly issuing CDLs to illegal migrants.
Harjinder Singh, an Indian man who illegally entered the U.S., allegedly took an unlawful U-turn off a Florida turnpike in August, blocking all lanes and instantly killing three people in a vehicle that smashed into his tractor-trailer. In October, Jashanpreet Singh, another Indian national in the country illegally, allegedly plowed into multiple vehicles off a California highway, killing three individuals in the process.
Both Harjinder and Jashanpreet obtained CDLs from California officials before their deadly highway crashes.
The Trump administration responded to the horrific crashes with emergency rules that mandated non-citizens to undergo a federal immigration status check and carry an employment-based visa if they wish to earn a non-domiciled CDL. However, these emergency rules have since been put on hold as a group of pro-Democrat labor organizations wage a lawsuit against them.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) in November accused California of unlawfully issuing 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs to migrant drivers, and has withheld tens of millions in federal funding from the state for allegedly failing to comply with federal English Language Proficiency standards. Later that month, the DOT threatened Pennsylvania with millions in federal funding cuts if the state didn’t take immediate action to fix its CDL program.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Monday that the DOT has removed nearly 3,000 CDL training providers from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Training Provider Registry for “failing to equip” trainees with the Trump White House’s standards for readiness, and another 4,000 training providers have been put on notice.
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