After a fatal crash, Sikh truck drivers in the US fear blowback

Trucks, Central Valley, the road circulating with the road traffic continues to roll on the 99 motorway in California. And behind the steering wheel, a sih man with a headscarf, his cabins are decorated with religious symbols, sih gurus portraits or posters of Punjab singers.

SİHS, a religious minority group from India, became a major part of the American truck industry, and helped to surrender everything from California strawberries to the country.

However, a accident in Florida and then sent tremors through the Sikh Truck Community, which could have economic consequences.

In the United States, approximately 750,000 sih and truck industries are mostly working about 150,000 as drivers. According to Punjabi Trucking Association, North America, the role they play in this basic industry, is clearly seen from the names of Curry (Singh Truck Truck – Punjab Truck), served at the western coast of the west coast where about 40% of all truck drivers are sih.

Many have limited English skills, but years of driving experience.

Since the Trump administration tightens the language requirements for commercial drivers, this has made some drivers in a precarious position. In response, many Temple of Sikhs offer language lessons to help drivers pass language tests.

“Many drivers stayed at home without fear of new laws. We started class to help them return to work.” He said.

On Sunday, a few drivers promoted in an English class at the Temple and reviewed highway signs and regulatory signs. Many drivers were shy about speaking, but they were motivated.

Narinder Singh, a 51 -year -old driver who has been working in the United States for eight years, takes lessons at the Temple in Stockton, because it is important to try to be a good citizen and comply with the law.

On the other side of the country, a fatal accident with a hard spot light on the sih drivers in California, “Sometimes the individual’s actions can cost the entire community,” he said.

On August 12, Harjinder Singh, a truck driver born in India, hit a minibash in Florida Turnpike and killed three people.

The Ministry of Interior Security (DHS) claimed that Harinder had entered the US illegally in 2018 in California and received a commercial driver license in California, although he did not have the right to be in the United States and failed in the English proficiency exam.

However, California officials said the federal authorities said that the state had a legal work permit when he gave him a driver’s license.

Harjinder is now faced with charges of murder and vehicle murder in Florida and rejected with bail. The arrangement is planned for the end of September.

The boiler had a fluctuation effect on the sih truck drivers.

Two weeks after the Florida accident, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio paused to provide a business visa for foreigners who want to become a commercial truck driver in the United States.

Industry inside has an increase in harassment against SİH drivers to BBC.

Raman Singh Dhillon, General Manager of North America Punapi Truck Association, said that many drivers are now afraid to be a target.

“SIH drivers are harassed at the truck stops. In some cases, even local law enforcement officers were unresponsive,” he says.

While Trump supports more calls for further regulation of commercial licenses and English competence requirements, Raman is concerned that harassment and increasingly strict immigration laws will make the sihs work in the sector.

“The truck industry will soon face a serious driver shortage,” he said.

A concern shared by many.

Gurpratap Sandhu, a Sacramento -based truck company, explains that his cousin, a US citizen truck driver, was harassed last week because of his ethnic origin only in Florida.

Gurpratap, “People are throwing water bottles at hon or truck stops in the truckers. They are mocked and harassed. Referring to the headscarves, they are called by racial muds such as ‘diaper’ and ‘towel head’.” He’s worried about the safety of his driver.

Harassment directly affects the work of Gurpratap.

“The SİH drivers in my company are afraid of going to Florida, Alabama and Arkansas due to migration and customs raids after the Florida accident, Gur Gurpratap added that the immigrant drivers once continued to exist as a warrior during a pandemic.

Arjun Sethi, a law professor at the University of George Washington, said that social media accounts and some politicians in the United States and India use this tragedy to target the entire Sikh community.

“This section should be considered as a singular, tragic event and should not be armed to target the entire SIH community.” He said.

He is also concerned that discourse can lead to violence.

Arjun, “For years, we have seen how inflamed discourse can lead to violence against the same communities. Sikhs, the Six Sih was killed in the 2012 Wisconsin Sih Temple of the mass shot,” he added.

The Federal Investigation Bureau’s 2024 -year -old hate crime statistics shows that Sikhs remain the third most targeted religious group behind Jewish and Muslim communities. Following the accident, the private US ambassador Richard Grenell met with a group of sih representatives in Sacramento and went to social media to solve verbal attacks as a “non -American” behavior against the Sikhs.

Raman Singh Dhillon, General Manager of North America Punjabi Truck Association, says that there should be an appropriate investigation that states provide commercial driver licenses to people who do not meet English proficiency standards.

However, so far, teaching English to the drivers has largely left the members of the SİH community, such as the language classes presented in the temples in California.

Raman says, “Nobody is interested in addressing the basic problem,” Raman says.

He continued: “Therefore, I believe that schools and state institutions should be maintained.”

Harinder Singh, a senior member at the US -based SİH Research Institute, also agrees. He says that the British competence is necessary for accustomed and proposes that in addition to federal and state governments, truck associations, immigrants to provide subsidies that will help immigrants learn English as the second language.

Arshveer Singh Sandhu is voluntarily teaching English to the drivers in Guru Park Parkash for seven weeks. Course – “English4truckers” – covers Basic English, communicates with civil servants during inspections, calls in restaurants such as Starbucks or Subway, calls 911 and explains mechanism problems.

Classes show positive results. Harpree Singh, a 38 -year -old SİHT truck driver, has joined since the program began.

“I trust my English thoughts. Now I understand the road signs confusing before.” He said.