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

The trucks continue to drive on motorway 99 in California, the animated route of freight trafficking through the central valley. And behind the steering wheel is often a sikh turban man, their taxis decorated with religious symbols, portraits of sikhs gurus or posters of Punjabi singers.

The Sikhs, a religious minority group from India, have become a large part of the American trucking industry, helping to deliver everything, from California strawberries to wood across the country.

But an accident in Florida and its consequences have sent chills to the Sikh trucking community which could have economic consequences.

There are around 750,000 sikhs in America, and around 150,000 working in the trucking industry, mainly as drivers. The role they play in this essential industry emerges from the names of the doors of their trucks – Singh Trucking, Punjab Trucking – at Curry used at rest stops along the west coast, where about 40% of all truck drivers are Sikh, according to the North American Punjabi Truck Association.

Many have limited English skills but years of driving experience.

This has put some drivers in a precarious position, because the Trump administration has decided to strengthen the linguistic requirements for commercial drivers. In response, many Sikh temples offer language lessons to help drivers pass their language tests.

“Many drivers have stayed at home for fear of new laws. We started class in mid-July, to help them go back to work,” said Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal, who volunteers with a Sikh temple in Stockton, California.

On Sunday, during an English lesson at the temple, several drivers practiced presentations and examined the motorway panels and the regulatory panels. Many drivers felt shy to speak but were motivated.

Narinder Singh, a 51 -year -old driver who has been working in America for eight years, says he has been taking courses at the Stockton Temple because he thinks it is important to try to be a good citizen and comply with the law.

“Sometimes an individual’s actions can cost the whole community,” he said, referring to a fatal accident on the other side of the country that has shone hard on Sikh drivers in California.

On August 12, Harjinder Singh, a truck driver of Indian origin, turned around the Florida turnpike, crashing into a mini-duties and killing three people.

The Ministry of Internal Security (DHS) said that Harinder had illegally entered the United States of Mexico in 2018 and had obtained a commercial driving license (CDL) in California, despite the legal right to be in the United States and to fail a skill examination in English.

However, Californian officials said the federal authorities told them that he had a legal work permit when the state had given him a driving license.

Harjinder is now faced with accusations of homicide for manslaughter and homicide in Florida vehicle and was denied a deposit. Its indictment is scheduled for the end of September.

The accident had a training effect on Sikh truck drivers.

Two weeks after the Florida Krach, Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a work visa break for foreigners who seek to become commercial truck drivers in the United States.

There has also been an increase in harassment against Sikh drivers, industry initiates told BBC.

Raman Singh Dhillon, chief executive officer of the North American Punjabi Trucking Association, said that many drivers were now afraid of becoming targets.

“Sikh drivers are harassed during truck stops. In some cases, even local police have not responded,” he said.

Although he supports Trump calls to more regulation of commercial licenses and skills in English, Raman fears that harassment and increasingly strict immigration laws make Sikhs to work in the industry.

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

It is a concern shared by many.

Gurpratap Singh Sandhu, who runs a Sacramento -based trucking company, reveals that his cousin, a American citizen truck driver, was harassed last week in Florida just because of his ethnicity.

“People hide sikhs or throw bottles of water at truck stops. They are ridiculed and harassed. They are called by racial insults, such as” diaper heads “and” the towel head “, referring to their turbans,” explains Gurpratap. He is concerned about the safety of his driver.

Harassment has an impact directly on the activities of Gurpratap.

“My business Sikhs are afraid of going to Florida, Alabama and Arkansas due to immigration and customs raids after the Florida accident,” said Gurpratap, adding that immigrant drivers were once greeted as warriors during the pandemic, when the alumni of the supply made the value of the industry.

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

“This episode must be treated as a singular and tragic event and not be armed to target the entire Sikh community,” said Arjun.

He also worries that rhetoric can lead to violence.

“We have seen for years how inflammatory rhetoric can lead to violence against these same communities. The Sikhs have already faced this during the mass shooting of the Sikh temple of Wisconsin 2012, in which six sikhs were killed,” added Arjun.

Annual statistics of hatred crime of the federal investigation office in 2024 show that the Sikhs remain the third most targeted religious group behind the Jewish and Muslim communities. After the accident, the American special envoy Richard Grenell met a group of Sikhs representatives in Sacramento and went to social networks to denounce the verbal attacks against the Sikhs as “non -American” behavior.

Raman Singh Dhillon, chief executive officer of the North American Punjabi Trucking Association, said that there should be an appropriate investigation into the way states provide commercial driver licenses to people who do not meet English control standards.

But so far, the teaching of English to drivers has been widely left to members of the Sikh community, such as the language courses offered among the temples of California.

“No one is interested in solving the basic problem,” said Raman.

“This is why I believe that driving schools and state agencies must be regulated.”

Harinder Singh, a principal researcher at Sikh Research Institute based in the United States, agrees. He says that mastery of English is essential to acclimatization and recommends that federal governments and states, as well as truckers’ associations, offer subsidized programs to help immigrants learn English as a second language.

Arshveer Singh Sandhu teaches English to Guru Nanak Parkash drivers for seven weeks as a volunteer. Its course – “English4truckers” – covers the basic English, communicating with the officers during inspections, commanding in restaurants like Starbucks or Subway, calling 911 and explaining mechanical problems.

Classes show positive results. Harpreet Singh, a 38 -year -old Sikh truck driver, has been witnessing the program since the start of the program.

“I gained confidence in my thoughts in English. I now understand the highway panels before,” he told the BBC.