Sanctuary authorities in Oregon cut an illegal immigrant truck driver loose after he allegedly killed a newlywed couple in a tragic collision, leading federal officers to track him down, The Daily Wire has learned.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with local authorities after Indian national Rajinder Kumar jackknifed his semi-truck and trailer in November. Kumar’s disabled big rig blocked both lanes of a major highway in Deschutes County, Oregon, allegedly causing the deaths of William Micah Carter and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower, after their vehicle “struck the trailer at highway speeds,” according to local reports.
The couple had only been married for 16 days at the time of the fatal collision, Jennifer’s father, Tom Lower, told The Bulletin.
Despite facing local charges, along with having an ICE detainer, Kumar was released from a local jail on April 2, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE was left to hunt him down in the streets, nabbing him on April 22.
It appears Kumar was released after posting $25,000, a portion of his $250,000 bond, before federal authorities caught up to him, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
DHS
Kumar crossed the border illegally into Lukeville, Arizona, in 2022 and was subsequently released into the country, according to DHS. He received a work permit in 2023, along with a California Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
Acting Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis pinned the blame on Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with sanctuary authorities in Oregon, for opening doors for Kumar throughout his time in the United States. The Trump administration has tagged California as a major source of fatal collisions involving illegal immigrant truck drivers after the state issued 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses to foreign drivers.
“This illegal alien was issued a CDL by Gavin Newsom’s California. He then went on to recklessly drive a truck on America’s highways and KILL two honeymooners. Instead of cooperating with ICE law enforcement, Oregon sanctuary politicians RELEASED him from jail back into American communities,” Bis said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
“Every time sanctuary politicians release a dangerous criminal illegal alien back into our communities, they are gambling with American lives. We are grateful to our ICE law enforcement officers who tracked this killer down to ensure he’s permanently removed from America’s highways and can never harm another American family again,” Bis said.
Kumar is now locked up at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where he will face deportation proceedings before an immigration judge. The illegal immigrant pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges in March.
