Harjinder Singh, 28, was arrested after allegedly making an unauthorized U-turn in Florida last week that resulted in a crash that left three people dead, officials said. (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office)
"Just as states issue driver’s licenses, they also issue commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). States are not supposed to issue CDLs to a person unless they are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder). There seems to be a loophole for a state to issue a CDL to someone who is merely authorized to work in the U.S.," Ries explained in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Note that the Trump (45) Administration denied Harjinder Singh’s application for work authorization, but the Biden Administration later granted his request. That could be enough to exploit this CDL loophole in a willing state," she continued.
Ries also made some suggestions, including moves that could be made at the federal level to prevent further tragedies.
FLORIDA TRAGEDY SHOWS WHY TRUMP’S TRUCKING LICENSE CRACKDOWN IS NEEDED
Tractor trailers at the entrance of the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Nathan Howard)
"In fact, the driver in this case was reissued an Employment Authorization (work permit) on 4/9/2025 and, if my math is correct, that falls within the current presidential term," the statement continued.
"3 innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License," she wrote Monday on X. "This gut wrenching tragedy should have never happened. My team at @DHSgov will work with @USDOT to root out and prevent illegal aliens from obtaining these licenses from sanctuary jurisdictions that put American drivers and passengers in danger."
In addition, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin and Newsom's press office had an exchange on X on Monday about the timeline.
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"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?" Newsom's office tweeted in a response to McLaughlin.
"False. Harjinder Singh is in the United States illegally and his work authorization was rejected under the Trump Administration on September 14, 2020," McLaughlin replied. "It was later approved under the Biden Administration June 9, 2021. The state of California issues Commercial Driver's Licenses. There is no national CDL," McLaughlin replied.
Fox News Digital reached out to the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Attorney General’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano and Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/expert-reveals-how-illegal-immigrant-trucker-may-have-gotten-commercial-license-fatal-florida-crash