immigration crackdown has hurt Sikhs and California's trucking industry hard.. 35% of drivers are Indian Sikhs

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

Commercial truck drivers: Truckers in the California Sikh community have had their lives upended, following the Trump administration’s September audit that disputed the legality of thousands of California commercial driver’s licenses held by immigrants.

The state’s plan to rescind licenses from as many as 61,000 truck drivers in the next few years has hit the Sikh community especially hard, since 35% of the state’s commercial drivers are believed to belong to the Indian religion.

In one truck depot in Stockton, dozens of trucks sit still after drivers were notified last fall that the Department of Motor Vehicles was canceling their commercial driver’s licenses.

“We have lost nearly $2 million in the last four months while paying $200,000 monthly to the bank and insurers for 35 parked trucks,” said Bikramjeet Singh Gill, the owner of the trucking operation. 


https://calmatters.org/newsletter/immigration-trump-child-care-truckers-courts/

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/business/sikhs-truckers-trump-crackdown.html

Long-Haul Trucking Was a Refuge for Sikh Immigrants. Until Now.
Two high-profile crashes and a Trump administration crackdown have brought worry, and wariness, to the community.
By Kurtis Lee
Dec. 21, 2025

...

For a long time, Dave Laut was one of them.

He arrived in California from Punjab in 2004 and joined his uncle, who was working as a driver.

Mr. Laut gained his citizenship in 2010 and six years later cast his first presidential vote for Donald J. Trump. He liked Mr. Trump because he was also a businessman and voted for him twice more.

During the president’s first term, Mr. Laut thought the economy was strong and the country focused on lifting up workers. Now, he said, the administration appears to be going after the blue-collar workers who voted Mr. Trump into office.

...