On August 12, 2025, a tragic crash on the Florida Turnpike set off a chain reaction that has rippled far beyond state lines, igniting fierce debates about immigration, religious identity, and the backbone of the American trucking industry. Harjinder Singh, an India-born truck driver, made a U-turn that authorities say caused a collision resulting in three fatalities. What followed was not just a flurry of legal proceedings, but a maelstrom of political finger-pointing and a surge in anti-Sikh and anti-immigrant rhetoric that has left many in the Sikh trucking community feeling unfairly targeted and deeply anxious about their future in the United States.
The immediate aftermath of the crash saw heated exchanges between Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. According to reports from multiple outlets, DeSantis sent his lieutenant governor to California to oversee the transfer of Singh, labeling him a “thug” and insisting, “Singh should never have been behind the wheel.” Newsom, for his part, pushed back on what he saw as political grandstanding and scapegoating, highlighting the broader implications for immigrant communities and the rule of law.
But the political drama was just the tip of the iceberg. Members of California’s Sikh trucking community say the incident, and the way it has played out in the media and online, has fueled a disturbing uptick in anti-Sikh rhetoric. Prahb Singh, a Riverside truck driver who emigrated from India as a child and is not related to the driver, described the online environment as increasingly hostile. “There are a lot of negative comments online,” he told reporters. “People are saying: ‘Take the towel heads off the streets’ and ‘Make our roads safe by taking immigrants off the street.’ All of this before a judge gives a sentence. It was a mistake by a driver, not the whole community.”
The statistics paint a clear picture of the community’s significance. The North American Punjabi Truckers Association estimates that Sikh drivers make up about 40% of truckers on the West Coast and roughly 20% nationwide. While no official government figures exist, advocacy groups put the number of Sikh truck drivers in the U.S. at between 150,000 and 250,000. Raman Dhillon, the association’s CEO, explained that the post-pandemic demand for drivers has only increased the presence of Sikhs in the industry. “I’ve been talking to a lot of truck drivers, and they’ve been saying, ‘People look at us different now,’” said Sukhpreet Waraich, a freight carrier owner in Fontana, California. “I’ve been driving since 2019. I haven’t got a single ticket.”
Yet, since the fatal crash, reports of harassment have become more frequent. Dhillon recounted an incident in Oklahoma where a Sikh man was ejected from a truck stop simply for trying to take a shower. The association has received numerous similar reports, underscoring the real-world consequences of online vitriol and political rhetoric.
Harjinder Singh now faces manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges and is being held without bond. The details of his immigration status have become a flashpoint. Florida authorities claim Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018, while California officials insist he had a legal work permit when he was issued a driver’s license. The Trump administration weighed in, stating Singh should never have received a commercial driver’s license due to his immigration status and a failed English proficiency test after the crash. However, New Mexico officials released a video showing Singh communicating in English with a police officer during a traffic stop, muddying the waters even further.
This uncertainty has only fueled the political fire. For many in the Sikh community, the case has become a symbol of how quickly an individual tragedy can be weaponized to cast suspicion on an entire group. “This is a tragedy; it was an accident, and every Punjabi, every Sikh, feels for the victims’ family,” said Harsimran Singh, CEO of Gillson Trucking in Stockton, California. “But the way that this case has been handled … has many, many people in my community fear for their future in this country.” Since the crash, he noted, five of his Sikh drivers have quit, saying they no longer feel safe on the roads.
In a show of solidarity and compassion, the UNITED SIKHS advocacy group gathered outside the Florida jail on September 5, 2025, to pray for the victims and their families, and to publicly condemn anti-Sikh discrimination. Gurvinder Singh, the group’s international humanitarian aid director, reminded the public of the values at stake: “Many immigrants have settled here, fleeing religious and other persecution, and we value the equal opportunity afforded to them by our legal system.”
The roots of Sikhism stretch back more than 500 years to India’s Punjab region. With about 25 million followers worldwide, Sikhs have long migrated abroad in search of economic opportunity and religious freedom. In the U.S., trucking has become more than just a job for many Sikh men; it’s a means of preserving their faith. The industry’s flexible environment allows for the wearing of turbans, uncut hair, and beards—tenets central to Sikh identity. “There’s a certain agency that is afforded to an individual, especially for those who might be wearing a turban, keeping their unshorn beards, that is not available in the ordinary workplace,” explained Manpreet Kaur, education director for the Sikh Coalition. “You’re able to, for example, park and pray.”
But that sense of agency now feels threatened. Jasdeep Singh, who leads a gurdwara in Fremont, California, has heard of children being bullied at school since the crash. “The whole community has been put on trial because we’re so visible,” he said. “It was always there but now it’s on another level. In 9/11, they thought we were Muslims. But this time, there’s no confusion. If you ask me, it’s worse.”
Hate crimes against Sikhs have been a persistent problem in the U.S., and recent FBI data confirms that Sikhs remain one of the most targeted religious groups. Harman Singh, executive director of the Sikh Coalition, warned that the fallout from the crash is being used to “demonize” the entire Sikh community. “Anytime an incident like this occurs and we hear and see heightened rhetoric targeting the community, targeting people’s articles of faith, suggesting that our community is somehow uniquely lawless or criminal, that ends up resulting in increased violence,” he said.
The Sikh Coalition, along with other advocacy groups, has been reaching out to Sikh truckers to inform them of their rights and to provide support. “We want to make sure that there’s legal proceedings and a process there to make sure that the family receives justice,” Harman Singh emphasized. “But that should happen through the courtroom. It shouldn’t happen through headlines. It shouldn’t happen on social media. And it certainly shouldn’t happen with very divisive rhetoric about a community at large.”
As the legal process unfolds in Florida, the Sikh trucking community and their allies continue to call for fairness, understanding, and a rejection of the divisive rhetoric that has surged since the crash. They hope that, in time, the narrative will shift away from blame and suspicion, and toward a recognition of the vital role Sikhs play in keeping America moving—one truck at a time.
