Donald Trump: The controversy started with a DHS post on X featuring an AI-generated image of a brown-bearded man, paired with the line “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr Singh.” The campaign, which also used AI-generated images and Transformers characters, was aimed at unlicensed commercial drivers, and directed people to a tip line for reporting commercial driving license fraud.
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Why ‘Mr Singh’ Triggered Backlash
The name Singh is common among both Sikhs and Hindus, and advocacy groups said using it this way amounted to profiling an entire community. Advocacy groups including the Hindu American Foundation, Sikh Coalition, HinduAction, and the Coalition of Hindus of North America called the advertisement un-American and racist. Political voices joined in too, with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office calling it racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community, and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi also pushing back.
DHS Takes The Post Down, But Doesn’t Back Off
Facing mounting criticism, DHS removed the advertisement, but responded by accusing Newsom of issuing commercial driving licenses to illegal immigrants. The agency also shared a video referencing truck driver Harjinder Singh, who was arrested after a fatal crash caused by an illegal U-turn the previous year.
HAF Says A Deleted Post Isn’t Accountability
Donald Trump: The Hindu American Foundation‘s response made clear that removing the ad wasn’t the end of the conversation. The organisation said it welcomed the removal, but stressed that when a federal agency uses a racialised caricature of an Indian or Sikh man to make a political point, taking the post down is only a first step, adding that Indian Americans, Sikhs, Hindus, and South Asians deserve better from their government.
The episode has added to ongoing friction between immigrant advocacy groups and the Trump administration’s messaging around illegal immigration and commercial driving safety, with community organisations now watching closely.
