ICE Targets Illegal Truck Driver Charged in Ohio Crash That Killed Mother of Two

A truck driver charged with causing a fatal head-on collision in Brown County, Ohio, last week is an undocumented immigrant from India who was released into the United States by the Biden administration and later obtained a commercial driver’s license from California, according to a report by Breitbart News.

The crash occurred on September 2 when Manjit Singh, driving a semi truck on a highway in Brown County, attempted to pass another vehicle and struck a car head-on, Breitbart reported. The driver of the other vehicle, 50-year-old Brenda Watson, died at the scene. Watson, a mother of two, is survived by a son and a daughter, according to her obituary.

Singh now faces a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. He remains in the Brown County Jail, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer requesting that local officials notify the agency before releasing him from custody.

How Singh Entered the Country and Obtained a CDL

According to Breitbart’s reporting, Singh crossed the southern border illegally through Arizona in October 2023, where Border Patrol agents encountered him. He was subsequently released into the U.S. interior under the Biden administration’s processing policies.

In July 2024, Singh applied for a work permit, and the Biden administration granted his application the following month, Breitbart reported. He was later issued a commercial driver’s license by the state of California, which Breitbart noted has sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That license allowed him to operate a semi truck.

The sequence of events—illegal entry, release, work authorization, and state-issued commercial licensing—has drawn sharp criticism from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who issued a statement on the case.

“This illegal alien from India has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide after allegedly causing a semi-truck crash that killed 50-year-old Brenda Watson in Ohio,” Mullin said. “He has no business being in our country or on our roads, but because of the reckless open borders of the Biden Administration and the sanctuary policies of Gavin Newsom’s California, he was able to obtain a CDL that allowed him behind the wheel of a semi-truck.”

Mullin added that ICE has asked Ohio officials to hold Singh so the agency can take him into custody for removal. “ICE has lodged a detainer asking officials in Ohio to commit to not releasing this killer back onto our streets, so that ICE can remove him from our country,” he said. “My thoughts and prayers are with Brenda Watson’s family.”

The case is the latest in a series of incidents involving immigrants who entered the country illegally and were later granted work authorization or driver’s licenses, only to be charged with serious crimes. Such cases have become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement, sanctuary jurisdictions, and the vetting of commercial drivers.

Breitbart News, which first reported Singh’s immigration status and the details of his CDL, cited a statement from DHS Secretary Mullin. The outlet also noted that Singh is from India and that his encounter with Border Patrol occurred in Arizona in October 2023.

Requests for comment from California’s governor’s office and Ohio authorities were not immediately returned. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office and ICE did not provide additional details beyond what was reported.

As the legal process moves forward, Singh remains jailed in Brown County. The ICE detainer ensures that, if he is released by local authorities, federal immigration officials will seek to take him into custody for potential deportation proceedings.

Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/09/exclusive-ice-seeks-custody-biden-released-illegal-alien-truck-driver-charged-with-killing-mother-of-two/