Authorities in Washington state are facing criticism after releasing a truck driver, who is an undocumented immigrant, accused of causing a fatal accident that resulted in the death of a father of two.

The driver, 25-year-old Kamalpreet Singh from India, is alleged to have crashed his semi-truck into Robert Pearson’s stationary vehicle on December 11, leading to the tragic death of the 29-year-old father.

Following his arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a detainer on Singh after determining his illegal status in the United States. However, Washington officials opted not to comply with the detainer request.

Singh managed to secure his release from King County jail last Friday after posting a $100,000 bond, according to reports from Fox News.

In response, the Department of Homeland Security issued a critical statement on Tuesday, condemning the decision and asserting that Washington’s political leaders have allowed a threat to public safety to return to the nation’s roads.

Washington is a sanctuary state, and the decision to release Singh was based on a state policy signed in 2019 by then-Governor Jay Inslee that restricted law enforcement’s ability to comply with federal immigration authorities. 

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Caller that she was dismayed by the move, saying that ‘these demented and dangerous sanctuary policies have deadly consequences.’ 

‘Robert Pearson would still be alive today if the Biden administration hadn’t released this illegal alien into our country. How many more Americans have to be killed before Democrat politicians start to put the public’s safety ahead of politics?’ 

Indian national Kamalpreet Singh, 25, was released following his arrest for allegedly causing the death of a father-of-two in a horror crash, after Washington authorities refused to honor an ICE detainer for the illegal immigrant  

Beloved married father-of-two Robert Pearson, 29, lost his life in the crash on December 11 

Officials said Singh illegally entered the US in 2023 in Lukeville, Arizona, but was ‘released into this country by the Biden administration.’ 

A Washington State Patrol (WSP) spokesman confirmed to the Daily Caller that Singh was driving with a commercial driver’s license issued by California. The Daily Mail has contacted the WSP for comment. 

With Singh back on the streets, tributes poured in for Pearson after he lost his life in the crash, as his family said that ‘in an instant, Blake was taken from us, leaving behind his loving wife Jess and their two young boys.’ 

‘Jess is now facing the overwhelming challenge of supporting her family while grieving the loss of her husband,’ the family wrote in a GoFundMe. 

They added that Pearson’s passing was an ‘unimaginable loss’ for his family, and his two young sons will not have to ‘adjust to life without their dad.’  

Following Singh’s release on a $100,000 bond on Friday, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin first reported that Singh had crossed paths with law enforcement before. 

Pearson was killed on his drive to work on the morning of December 11, when a truck allegedly driven by Singh slammed into the back of his car as he was stopped 

Tributes poured in for Pearson after he lost his life in the crash, as his family said that ‘in an instant, Blake was taken from us, leaving behind his loving wife Jess and their two young boys’ 

Loved ones said Pearson’s passing was an ‘unimaginable loss’ for his family, and his two young sons will not have to ‘adjust to life without their dad’ 

Melugin cited senior ICE sources saying that after Singh was arrested in Arizona, he was not deported and was released back into the US by the Biden administration. 

After allegedly crashing into Pearson last week, ICE issued a detainer order, which requests local law enforcement hold a foreign national for up to 48 hours after their ordinary release, so Homeland Security has more time to take custody and deport them. 

The allegations that the illegal immigrant was driving with a California commercial driver’s license follow a similar case in Florida in August, when asylum seeker Harjinder Singh was accused of killing three people when he made an illegal U-turn while also on the roads illegally. 

Singh, of no relation to Kamalpreet Singh in Washington, allegedly had such poor English skills that he couldn’t read street signs, but was handed a driver’s license by California. 

It is illegal for undocumented immigrants to obtain a commercial driver’s license. However, a federal government investigation also found earlier this year that California had unlawfully issued 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses to migrants. 

The White House press secretary reposted Melugin’s report on X, alleging that ‘unqualified illegal alien drivers are a public safety threat.’  

Washington is a sanctuary state, and the decision to release Singh was based on a state policy signed in 2019 by then-Governor Jay Inslee (pictured), that restricted law enforcement’s ability to comply with federal immigration authorities

Karoline Leavitt said that President Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ‘will aggressively enforce our laws to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, and passengers by ensuring anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is here legally, properly qualified, AND proficient in our national language – English!’ 

Following outrage over Washington’s decision not to comply with federal authorities, Duffy threatened to withhold federal funding for highways in Blue states if they refused to do so. 

‘If we’re going to have drivers on American roadways, they need to be the best trained… because if operated incorrectly or inappropriately, these [vehicles] are lethal weapons on American roadways,’ Duffy said in a press conference. 

‘We will pull every dollar possible from every single state that’s unwilling to work with this administration and these longstanding rules to make sure that when [an] American family gets in a car, they shouldn’t be worried that they have an unqualified foreigner operating an 80,000-pound big rig that could endanger their lives.’