Trump could cost 150,000 truckers their jobs — and they're all from one minority group

President Donald Trump called for Congress to pass the so-called “Dalilah Law” requiring commercial drivers licenses to only go to legal residents — and in the process continued the MAGA movement’s targeting of the Sikh community.

"Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs," Trump said during his Tuesday night State of the Union message. "That's why tonight, I'm calling on Congress to pass what we will call the 'Dalilah Law,' barring any state from granting commercial drivers licenses to illegal aliens."

From bus drivers and over-the-road semi-trailer drivers to RV delivery haulers, America has 3.5 million licensed truckers, and the American Trucking Associations trade group (37,000-members strong) supports Trump’s efforts to both enforce immigration laws and “ensure that only properly trained, fully qualified, and English-proficient drivers are behind the wheel of 80,000-pound commercial motor vehicles.” Yet Trump’s approach may also target a group that MAGA repeatedly puts in its sites — Sikhs

“Among the strongest critics of the measures are India-born Sikhs, who make up about 150,000 members of the trucking community, according to regulatory data,” reported USA Today’s Trevor Hughes. “Tens of thousands of Sikhs sought asylum in the United States during the Biden presidency, many of them crossing the Mexican border without advance permission.” The article also pointed out that for thousands of people “the crackdown on foreign drivers would cause them to lose their jobs and homes in one fell swoop ‒ many truckers live in their semis” and simultaneously increase “freight costs from American consumers.”

The White House has often singled out Sikh truck drivers, in particular a California-licensed Sikh driver named Harjinder Singh was involved in a fatal August crash in Florida that killed three people. Trump officials claim Singh was in America illegally and did not speak English well enough to qualify for his license. Sikhs For Justice, a US-based group, donated $100,000 to the victims in the accident Singh is accused of causing.

Others in the Trump movement have expressed prejudice against Sikhs. In June Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) misidentified a Sikh man as Muslim and argued that he should not have been allowed to pray on the House of Representatives floor because he is not a Christian.

“It’s deeply troubling that a Muslim was allowed to lead prayer in the House of Representatives this morning,” Miller said. “This should have never been allowed to happen. America was founded as a Christian nation, and I believe our government should reflect that truth, not drift further…”

Miller later posted a version that swapped the word “Sikh” for “Muslim.” Miller’s target was Giani Singh, a Sikh Granthi from southern New Jersey who had been “welcomes” to deliver the prayer by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ).

FBI director Kash Patel has also been targeted by xenophobia. When he wished his followers a Happy Diwali on X (Diwali is celebrated by Sikhs, some Buddhists, Jains and Hindus), far-right Christian and white nationalists attacked Patel online. Diwali greetings were similarly attacked when expressed by Indian American Trump officials like former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.

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