Why are California’s Indian truck drivers disappearing during the holiday rush?

It’s expected to be the busiest time of the year for trucking company Roadies, but dozens of its trucks are sitting idle; Unexpected losses due to a surprise inspection of workers from India.

The Bakersfield company has 200 large trucks but has experienced a driver shortage after authorities revoked thousands of commercial driver’s licenses in California, more than 20 Roadies drivers walked off the job and intimidated others into quitting.

Chief Executive Officer Avninder Singh said he had doubled his salary but was still unable to hire enough drivers. He says he now loses more each month than he normally earns in a year.

“My trucks are just sitting there with no one to drive them,” he said. “He put my livelihood in danger”

Apart from technology, medicine and family businesses, truck driving is one of the largest sources of employment for the Indian diaspora in America. Indian truckers say they are being unfairly targeted after a horrific crash led to increased scrutiny and tighter regulations on immigrant drivers.

Some drivers, many of whom claim to have fled persecution in India and sought asylum in the United States, are sitting on expensive investments they cannot use. Joban Singh, 27, of Bakersfield, spent $80,000 to buy a truck because although truck driving is a tough life, it provides a steady income to support his family.

“We invested everything in trucking thinking it would be good for us,” he said. “If we cancel our licenses now, who will buy these trucks and trailers from us?”

Truck driver Rahul Narwal said that if his current license status continues, his license will not be renewed when it expires in 2028.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Singh is a common surname in the Sikh community in the Indian state of Punjab. None of the people mentioned in this story are related to each other.

Sikh truckers from Punjab have emerged as the backbone of the American trucking industry. For decades, many people sought refuge in the United States and entered the transportation industry.

There are approximately 750,000 Punjabi Sikhs in the United States. About 150,000 of them work in the trucking industry, with the majority located on the West Coast.

More devout Sikhs wear turbans and beards as symbols of their faith, which is neither Hindu nor Muslim. That could make them a target on the road, says Manpreet Kaur, deputy mayor of the city of Bakersfield.

“The Sikh community in the trucking industry is really being crushed in the middle of the war between the state of California and the federal government,” said Kaur, whose father is a truck owner and operator.

Incidents of racism and racial profiling have increased in the community, with Indian truckers reporting doors being slammed in their faces and racial slurs being used at truck stops.

“The feeling of not belonging to a place where you work, earn and contribute, [and where] He said that he persuaded the drivers to leave the industry by saying “Your children are grown up” and continued: “Due to the decisions of a management, hatred suddenly emerges so strongly.”

The surge in negative attention began in August when three people were killed in a crash in Florida after a licensed Indian driver from California allegedly made an illegal U-turn.

The Trump administration accused California of failing to meet English proficiency and other driver requirements. In September, the Trump administration issued an emergency rule to halt the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens.

Members of the Sikh community have rallied in support of truck driver Harjinder Singh, who has been charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide after a crash in Florida.

(Al Diaz/Miami Herald)

Department of Transportation puts pressure on California to cancel 40 million dollars in federal funding due to non-administration of English proficiency tests and threats to cut off additional federal support.

Last month, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced plans to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants. The DMV said the licenses were revoked because they would expire after the immigrants were allowed to remain in the United States legally.

Sukhdeep Singh, owner of Cali Brothers Truck Lines, which has 60 trucks and is headquartered in Merced, said 10 of his Sikh drivers left the job last month. They have valid licenses and work documents, but they are afraid to get back on the road, worried they could be sent home if they are stopped.

“They don’t want to drive anymore,” he said.

Around 25 of Roadies’ truck drivers received the cancellation notice. The company is now losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue each month because its customers go elsewhere.

Policy changes regarding non-citizen commercial licenses and enforcement of English language proficiency could remove more than 400,000 commercial drivers from the market over the next three years, according to JB Hunt, one of the largest trucking companies.

Some say driver shortage concerns are overblown and that there are enough U.S. citizens to meet driver demand if given adequate training and wages.

“I don’t buy the idea that there aren’t enough American truck drivers in this country to meet the demands,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. October press conference. “When we do the right thing and eliminate these illegal drivers, I think you will see American truck drivers fill the gap.”

Roadies CEO Avninder Singh said around 100 of its 300 drivers will be affected by the license suspension. He passes nine trucks parked at his workplace because he doesn’t have a driver.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

In the past, American Trucking Assn. advocacy groups like Lobbyed for looser licensing rules They supported tighter restrictions to address driver shortages.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said regulators should enforce rules requiring truckers to be well-trained and qualified.

“Being qualified means you can speak English, read road signs, understand safety rules and respect our laws,” he said. “Being qualified means you earned your CDL the right way, not through a rubber-stamp process in an otherwise visible state.”

Companies that rely on Indian truckers may need to rethink their business models.

truck transportation the industry is full of small carriers operating 10 or fewer trucks. Most have been operating without incident for years, but many may now be out of business as they wait for the new normal to emerge.

“I’m excited for the holiday season,” said Sukhdeep Singh of Cali Brothers Truck Lines. “But for truckers, that doesn’t bring any happiness.”