An Indian national living unlawfully in the United States was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month after allegedly causing a serious traffic accident in Indianapolis, Indiana.
25-year-old Sukhdev Singh reportedly hit a pedestrian while driving a semi‑truck along Interstate 65, leaving the victim hospitalised in critical condition, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Singh had obtained a Commercial Driver’s Licence (CDL) in New York on January 2, 2025, despite not being in lawful immigration status. Indiana State Police responded to the crash on 6 March and contacted ICE, which arrived later that evening to take Singh into custody. He remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings.
Commenting on the incident, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deputy assistant secretary Lauren Bis said: “It is common sense: illegal aliens should not be operating 18‑wheelers on American highways. We are praying this individual makes a full recovery.”
She added: “It is incredibly dangerous for illegal aliens, who often don’t know our traffic laws or even English, to be operating 18‑wheelers on America’s roads. Sanctuary governors like Kathy Hochul must stop giving illegal aliens driver’s license before even more Americans get injured or killed.”
The arrest comes as authorities pay more attention to truck drivers in the US who are living in the country illegally. Officials said there have been several accidents involving undocumented truck drivers, including one in February 2026 in Indiana that killed four members of an Amish family.
The Department of Transportation has taken steps to address the issue. In September 2025, the DOT heavily restricted non-domiciled CDLs, citing a federal audit that uncovered “catastrophic patterns” of states issuing licences to foreign drivers without proper oversight. Additional rules were introduced in February 2026 to eliminate loopholes that had allowed foreigners with poor driving records to operate commercial vehicles.
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