Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, fiercely criticized Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Biden administration’s immigration policies on Friday, claiming they directly enabled a deadly multi-vehicle crash in California.
During an appearance on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show,” Miller focused on the case of Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian national living illegally in the U.S., who triggered a fatal highway wreck that left three people dead.
A Department of Transportation (DOT) probe revealed Singh had maintained and even upgraded his commercial driver’s license (CDL) just days before the alleged drug-fueled incident in Ontario, California.
Miller argued the tragedy was a direct consequence of Governor Newsom’s policy of extending commercial driving privileges to noncitizens.
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“Gavin Newsom in his state has a policy to give commercial driver’s licenses to individuals who do not know how to speak English and do not know how to drive,” Miller stated. “Those are policy choices that Gov. Newsom and his state have made. So it’s one Democrat policy choice after another.”
Beyond the state level, Miller laid significant blame on President Joe Biden’s border decisions, calling the situation a “Democrat-caused calamity.”
“The first crime against Americans was the Biden administration’s decision to voluntarily free and release from custody an illegal alien within hours of crossing the southern border,” Miller told Cain.
Homeland Security officials confirmed that Singh entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was released shortly after under the Biden administration. Miller further accused the administration of reversing Trump-era safeguards, including a regulation that barred work permits for illegal immigrants.
“Donald Trump issued a regulation barring work permits for illegal aliens. Biden reversed that regulation, mandated work permits for illegal aliens, issued him [Singh] a work permit,” Miller noted.
The controversy over California’s CDL practices has drawn federal scrutiny. A September 26 DOT press release found that over a quarter of non-domiciled commercial licenses in California were issued improperly.
The DOT further stated that California had defied urgent federal orders to cancel commercial licenses held by illegal alien drivers like Singh.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joined the chorus of criticism, suggesting the deadly crash could have been avoided if Governor Newsom had enforced the administration’s new safety regulations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also previously pointed out that California allowed Singh to obtain the commercial driving license.
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