In a tragic and easily avoidable accident, Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from India, killed three people after he attempted an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike on August 12, 2025. Capitalizing on the horrific accident, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office tried to blame the accident on President Trump, prompting a well-deserved backlash from Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
For context, McLaughlin initially reacted to the event by promising to work closely with the DOT to bring an end to unqualified illegal immigrants on our highways. Seizing the opportunity, Newsom’s office blamed Trump for the incident because he was in office when Singh entered the nation, ignoring multiple vital details about the case.
This was demonstrated when McLaughlin took to X to announce a new partnership between the DHS and DOT. She stated, “3 innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License—this state of governance is asinine.”
Building on this point, she turned her scorn to Gavin Newsom, saying, “How many more innocent people have to die before@GavinNewsom stops playing games with the safety of the American public? We pray for the victims and their families. Secretary Noem and DHS are working around the clock to protect the public and get these criminal illegal aliens out of America.”
Cynically using this tragedy to advance a woke political agenda, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office made a snarky reply, saying, “Hey, genius: the federal government (TRUMP ADMIN) already confirmed that this guy meets federal and state immigration requirements — YOU issued him a work permit (EAD). As usual, the Trump Administration is either lying or clueless. p.s. @grok, who was President in 2018?”
Firing back with well-deserved anger, the Homeland Security assistant secretary responded with a viral post. McLaughlin retorted, “False. Harjinder Singh is in the United States illegally and his work authorization was rejected under the Trump Administration on September 14, 2020.”
Continuing her witty response, she noted that, “It was later approved under the Biden Administration, June 9, 2021. The state of California issues Commercial Drivers Licenses. There is no national CDL. Sincerely, Genius.”
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Adding additional context, Trump’s Secretary of transporation, Sean Duffy, issued a comprehensve report on the ongoing investigation. The well-respected official noted, “If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us.”
Building on this point, Duffy continued, “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles.”
Promising to continue the investigation, Sean Duffy vowed, “We will use every tool at our disposal to hold these states and bad actors accountable. President Trump and I will restore safety to our roads. The families of the deceased deserve justice.”