The Department of Homeland Security is being criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office for posting an AI-generated immigration-enforcement graphic that showed a bearded man facing a Transformers-style figure marked with a DHS insignia.
The text accompanying the face-to-face confrontation declared “America for Americans,” and warned “Self-deport or find out.”
“Get off our roads,” the graphic said. “You don’t know how to drive, Mr. Singh.”
“This is disgusting,” Newsom’s office wrote. “Trump’s government is trafficking in racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community.”
This is disgusting.
Trump’s government is trafficking in racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community. pic.twitter.com/LUX5fOLfMA
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) September 10, 2026
DHS answered Newsom directly.
“Hey Gavin, YOU gave him his CDL and then he killed three people with his tractor-trailer,” the department wrote, attaching a video and quoting the governor’s post.
Hey Gavin, YOU gave him his CDL and then he killed three people with his tractor-trailer. https://t.co/5qoXLLCMt7 pic.twitter.com/zqWfOZG1Hk
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 10, 2026
The department was referring to Harjinder Singh, a truck driver charged with three counts of vehicular homicide after an August 2025 crash on Florida’s Turnpike.
Florida authorities said Singh attempted an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer. A minivan traveling in the adjacent lane struck the trailer, killing its driver and two passengers. Singh has been held without bond while awaiting trial.
Singh had a valid California commercial driver’s license when the crash occurred, according to court filings described by the Associated Press. He had originally obtained a commercial license in Washington state before California issued him one.
The crash previously featured in another public fight between Newsom’s office and the Trump administration. DHS said Singh was in the country illegally and blamed California for issuing him a commercial license. Newsom’s office responded that Singh had applied for work authorization during President Trump’s first term. DHS said the application was denied in September 2020 and that he received authorization in June 2021, under President Biden.
[NOTE: “Singh” is a common surname among Sikhs and does not identify a particular family. Sikh men have a substantial presence in the trucking industry.]
Sikh-American journalist Alec Nolan also criticized the new DHS graphic.
“My grandpa’s name was Dan Singh,” Nolan wrote, recounting his family’s history in California farming and trucking. “This post is racist and demeaning to anyone with the last name Singh.”
The Sikh Coalition and other advocates have warned that political rhetoric surrounding fatal crashes involving immigrant drivers has produced broader hostility toward Sikh truckers. Truck drivers interviewed by the AP last year reported increased harassment after the Florida crash.