After fatal crash, Sikh truck drivers in the US fear backlash Gagandeep Singh September 15, 2025 at 3:02 AM 15 [BBC/Gagandeep Singh] The trucks keep rolling on Highway 99 in California, the route bustling with freight traffic through the Central Valley.
- - After fatal crash, Sikh truck drivers in the US fear backlash
Gagandeep Singh -September 15, 2025 at 3:02 AM
15
[BBC/Gagandeep Singh]
The trucks keep rolling on Highway 99 in California, the route bustling with freight traffic through the Central Valley. And behind the wheel is often a turbaned Sikh man, their cabs adorned with religious symbols, portraits of Sikh Gurus, or posters of Punjabi singers.
Sikhs, a religious minority group from India, have become a large part of America's haulage industry, helping to deliver everything from Californian strawberries to lumber across the country.
But a crash in Florida and its aftermath has sent shivers through the Sikh trucking community that could have economic consequences.
There are approximately 750,000 Sikhs in the US, and about 150,000 working in the trucking industry, mostly as drivers. The role they play in this essential industry is evident from the names on their trucks' doors - Singh Trucking, Punjab Trucking - to the curry served at rest stops along the west coast, where approximately 40% of all truck drivers are Sikh, according to the North American Punjabi Trucking Association (NAPTA).
Many have limited English skills but years of driving experience.
This has put some drivers in a precarious position, as the Trump administration has moved to tighten language requirements for commercial drivers. In response, many Sikh temples are offering language classes to help drivers pass their language tests.
"Many drivers stayed home out of fear of the new laws. We started the class in mid-July, to help them return to work," said Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal, who volunteers with a Sikh temple in Stockton, California.
At an English class at the temple on Sunday, several drivers practised introductions and reviewed highway signs and regulatory signs. Many drivers felt shy about speaking but were motivated.
Narinder Singh, a 51-year-old driver who has been working in the US for eight years, says he's taking classes at the temple because he thinks it's important to try to be a good citizen and comply with the law.
"Sometimes an individual's actions may cost the entire community," he said, referencing a fatal crash on the other side of the country that has shone a harsh spotlight on Sikh drivers.
A tragic crash shakes the industry
On 12 August, Harjinder Singh, an Indian-born truck driver, made a U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, crashing into a minivan and killing three people.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed he entered the US illegally from Mexico in 2018 and obtained a commercial driver's licence in California, despite having no legal right to be in the US and failing an English proficiency exam.
However, California officials say federal authorities told them he had a legal work permit when the state issued him a driver's licence.
Harjinder now faces manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges in Florida and has been denied bail. His arraignment is slated for the end of September.
Two weeks after the Florida crash, Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused the issuing of work visas for foreigners looking to become commercial truck drivers in the US.
There has also been an increase in harassment against Sikh drivers, industry insiders tell the BBC.
Raman Singh Dhillon, chief executive of NAPTA, said many drivers were now afraid about becoming targets.
"Sikh drivers are being harassed at truck stops. In some cases, even local law enforcement has been unresponsive," he says.
While he supports Trump's calls for more regulation of commercial licences and English proficiency requirements, Raman is concerned that harassment and increasingly strict immigration laws will make it harder for Sikhs to work in the industry.
"The trucking industry will soon face a serious driver shortage," he said.
It's a concern shared by many.
Gurpratap Singh Sandhu, who runs a Sacramento-based trucking company, reveals his cousin, a US citizen and truck driver, was harassed last week in Florida just because of his ethnicity.
"People honk at Sikh truckers or throw water bottles at truck stops. They're being ridiculed and harassed. They're being called by racial slurs, like 'diaper-head' and 'towel-head', referring to their turbans," Gurpratap says. He worries about his drivers' security.
The harassment impacts Gurpratap's business directly.
"Sikh drivers in my company are scared to go to Florida, Alabama and Arkansas because of Immigration and Customs raids after the Florida crash," Gurpratap said, adding that immigrant drivers were once hailed as warriors during the pandemic, when supply backlogs made the value of the industry evident.
Arjun Sethi, a law professor at George Washington University, said that the social media accounts in the US and India, as well as some politicians, have used this tragedy to target the entire Sikh community.
"This episode should be treated as a singular, tragic event and not be weaponised to target the entire Sikh community," Arjun said.
He also worries that rhetoric may lead to violence.
"We have seen for years how inflammatory rhetoric can lead to violence against those same communities. Sikhs have already faced this in the 2012 Wisconsin Sikh Temple mass shooting, in which six Sikhs were killed", Arjun added.
The FBI's 2024 annual hate crime statistics show Sikhs remain the third-most targeted religious group behind the Jewish and Muslim communities. Following the crash, US special envoy Richard Grenell met a group of Sikh representatives in Sacramento and took to social media to decry verbal attacks against Sikhs as "un-American" behaviour.
Raman Singh Dhillon and his wife Rupinder Kaur teach drivers in Stockton [BBC/Gagandeep Singh]Learning in sacred spaces
NAPTA's Raman Singh Dhillon says there should be a proper investigation into how states are issuing commercial driver's licences to individuals who don't meet English proficiency standards.
But so far, teaching English to drivers has largely been left up to members of the Sikh community themselves.
"No one is interested in addressing the core problem," Raman says. "That's why I believe driving schools and state agencies must be regulated."
Harinder Singh, a senior fellow at the US-based Sikh Research Institute, agrees. He says English proficiency is essential for integration, and recommends that federal and state governments, as well as trucker associations, offer subsidised programmes to help immigrants learn English as a second language.
Arshveer Singh Sandhu has been teaching English to the drivers at Guru Nanak Parkash for seven weeks as a volunteer. His course - "English4Truckers" - covers basic English, communicating with officers during inspections, ordering at restaurants like Starbucks or Subway, calling 911, and explaining issues to mechanics.
The classes show positive results. Harpreet Singh, a 38-year-old Sikh truck driver, has attended since the programme began.
"I have gained confidence in my thoughts in English. I now understand previously confusing highway signs," he told the BBC.
Source: "AOL General News"
Source: VoXi MAG
Read More >> Full Article on Source: VoXi MAG
#US #ShowBiz #Sports #Politics #Celebs