Media contact: media@asianlawcaucus.org
Asian Law Caucus Statement on Attacks Targeting the Sikh Community
SAN FRANCISCO—In the past week, the Trump administration has escalated its targeting of Sikh communities and immigrant truck drivers using the platform of the federal government to encourage suspicion, profiling, and hostility toward people simply trying to provide for their families.
The administration, last Wednesday, set up an ICE tipline encouraging people to report immigrant commercial drivers based only on racial profiling. The tipline comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared a social media post with a dehumanizing and xenophobic image of a Sikh man face to face against a Transformer robot figure representing the United States with text saying “Get off our roads. You don’t know how to drive Mr. Singh.” Since early 2025, the Department of Transportation has advanced policies threatening the livelihoods of immigrant truck drivers with valid work authorization, many of whom are Punjabi Sikh asylum seekers. In the past year, Sikh truck drivers have reported increased harassment and concern for their safety while on the road.
Aarti Kohli, executive director of Asian Law Caucus, shared the following statement:
“No one should ever face violence or threats because of what they look like, where they come from, or what religion they practice. In the wake of 9/11, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American was the first person killed in the wave of hate violence against South Asian and Muslim communities. Now 25 years later, the Trump administration is once again fueling suspicion and hostility toward the Sikh community. From an ICE tipline that encourages profiling to rule changes that are taking away the licenses of hundreds of thousands of immigrant truck drivers with work authorization, the Trump administration has used the power of the federal government to single out and target Sikh commercial drivers. That kind of scapegoating has real and devastating consequences for Sikh drivers, from losing their livelihoods, being turned away from truck stops, and facing physical attacks. We join our Sikh partners in fighting for an America where everyone can feel safe – at work, on the road, and in our neighborhoods. We have learned, painfully, what happens when manufactured fear turns neighbors into suspects. We are better than that.”
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For the latest on Sikh community updates in California, please visit our partner Jakara Movement: https://www.jakara.org/