The recent tragic incident in Indiana serves as a harsh reminder of the potential consequences of the current administration’s immigration policies. With heavy hearts, residents are mourning the loss of four men from the Amish community who were victims of a fatal accident involving a semi-truck. The driver, reportedly an immigrant from Kazakhstan, had entered the country using the CBP1 app, a technology enabled under President Biden’s administration. Whether President Biden intended to create hazardous roadways with these policies remains open for discussion, but one thing is sure: the consequences are dire and painfully real.
This case brings to light the fact that the driver, who had been granted parole and later received a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania, was allowed to operate a massive, potentially dangerous vehicle on American roads. Of course, Pennsylvania—one of those famed sanctuary states—felt that issuing commercial licenses to basically anyone with a pulse was a swell idea. Apparently, being an undocumented immigrant is enough of a qualification. Would it be too much to call that risky at best and reckless at worst? The results speak for themselves because all the flowery language in the world can’t mask the cold, hard truth: innocent lives were lost.
The pain isn’t isolated to just one community. Marcus Coleman, whose five-year-old daughter was critically injured by another undocumented driver hailing from India, understands the ramifications all too well. His daughter, now permanently needing medical care, serves as a living testament to the kinds of long-term devastation these immigration loopholes can create. But rather than focusing on enforcing strict entry policies, it seems that some prefer to play politics with the safety of our roads. Isn’t it comforting to know that our elected officials are focusing their competence on making sure more of this chaos ensues? It sure is reassuring, if you’re living in an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Indiana, unlike some states, appears to take these incidents more seriously with cooperation with ICE, leading to the driver’s custody transfer to federal authorities. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Governor’s office issued statements about the driver’s legal status, which apparently sounded more like a schoolyard blame game than a serious attempt to address the issue. Declaring that “Christine Gnome should focus on mining shop,” whatever that even means, hardly seems like the priority when lives are on the line. It’s just another example of shifting blame rather than solving problems. Because why tackle real issues when you can score cheap political points?
The bottom line is simple: policies like those seen under the current administration appear to only increase the presence of unqualified drivers on the roads, resulting in tragic and unnecessary loss of life. Let’s hope those who make these policies are held accountable. When will it be time instead to champion the safety and well-being of American citizens? With each preventable tragedy, one can only hope that time will come soon. Until then, keep an eye out on those roads because, apparently, common sense has taken a back seat.
