Members of California’s Sikh trucking community assert that a tragic accident involving one of their own, which ignited national discussions on immigration, has resulted in an increase in anti-Sikh sentiment.
On August 12, Harjinder Singh, an Indian-born truck driver, executed a U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, allegedly resulting in a collision that claimed three lives. This incident and the ensuing investigations fueled a contentious exchange between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The crash also triggered a wave of online hostility directed towards Sikh drivers, many of whom aspire to high-paying trucking roles that let them maintain their cultural practices, including wearing beards, uncut hair, and turbans.
“There’s been a surge of negative comments online,” stated Prahb Singh, a truck driver from Riverside, California. “Comments like: ‘Remove the towel heads from our streets’ and ‘Make our roads safer by getting immigrants off the roads’ are circulating,” he continued, emphasizing that the incident was the result of a driver’s error and not representative of the entire community.
Estimates indicate that the Sikh population in the U.S. might be as high as 750,000, with a significant presence in California. Many are employed in the trucking sector or related fields, such as restaurants and trucking schools situated along major highways.
The North American Punjabi Truckers Association notes that Sikhs constitute around 40% of truck drivers on the West Coast and about 20% nationwide. Although there are no official statistics, CEO Raman Dhillon mentions that advocacy groups estimate the number of Sikh truck drivers in the U.S. to be between 150,000 and 250,000 due to increased demand for drivers post-pandemic.
Since the tragic incident, the association has documented numerous instances of harassment against Sikh drivers. One case involved a Sikh man being expelled from an Oklahoma truck stop while attempting to take a shower, illustrating the increasing animosity.
