Staff Reports
In a tragic event that underscores the dangers posed by illegal immigration, the state of Indiana is now grappling with the fallout from a fatal crash involving a tractor-trailer and a driver who should never have been behind the wheel. Terry Schultz, a 64-year-old resident of the state, lost his life when a semi-truck, driven by an illegal immigrant named Singh Sukdeep from India, ran a red light and crashed into Terry’s car. This tragic incident highlights a growing concern: the increasing number of accidents tied to illegal drivers on our roads.
The tragic story of Terry Schultz is compounded by the fact that Singh Sukdeep entered the United States illegally in 2018 and was merely caught and released at the border during the tumultuous debate over the border wall. This illustrates a concerning pattern — while political parties argue over immigration policies, innocent lives are tragically affected. A witness to the accident described staying with Terry in his final moments, a reminder of the human cost of these policy failures.
Adding to the urgency of the situation, a recent bombshell report revealed that a staggering 20% of commercial driver’s licenses issued to non-citizens in Illinois were issued illegally. This prompted a response from Transportation Secretary Shawn Duffy, who has warned that the state must rectify these issues or risk losing significant federal funding. The call to action is clear: States must enforce the existing standards not just for compliance’s sake, but to ensure the safety of all Americans traveling on the highways.
Among those impacted by the increasingly dangerous situation on the roads is Marcus Coleman, a former truck driver whose life was turned upside down by an accident involving an illegal immigrant driving a big rig. His young daughter, Delilah, sustained severe injuries that left her struggling to regain basic skills. Marcus has made it his mission to advocate for stricter regulations, emphasizing that proper standards must be upheld to protect American drivers. It is a fight that transcends political lines; this is about public safety and ensuring that those tasked with driving large, heavy vehicles are trained and qualified to do so.
The root of the problem, as Marcus points out, appears to be deep-seated greed among certain employers, who often prefer to hire cheaper labor over investing in American drivers. Rather than raising wages to attract qualified workers, some employers are opting for a less scrupulous approach. When the system prioritizes cheap labor over qualified drivers, the result can be catastrophic. These are not just statistical numbers; they represent real families, real struggles, and the heartbreak of losing a loved one or facing the consequences of reckless driving.
The reality is that this issue isn’t confined to Indiana or Illinois; it is a growing concern across the nation. The message is clear: politicians and policymakers need to take a good hard look at what genuinely lies behind the so-called truck driver shortage and act decisively to protect American families from preventable tragedies. If more stringent measures aren’t put in place, the fear is that more lives will be lost, impacting countless families, just like the Colemans.
