Punjabi truck driver in US arrested by ICE days after DHS withdraws controversial poster
PTC News Desk: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Boston has arrested Satvir Singh, a Punjabi-origin Indian truck driver, during a targeted operation at a commercial vehicle inspection station in Hillsborough along a national highway.
Singh, who lived in New Jersey and worked as an interstate truck driver, was arrested on September 11.
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ICE said in a post on X on Monday that Singh had legally entered the US in 2017 but later violated the conditions of his admission by staying in the country illegally for more than eight years.
“Enforcement and Removal Operation (ERO) Boston will continue to keep our New England highways, streets, and communities safe,” the agency said.
Singh’s arrest came a day after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removed a controversial digital advertisement targeting undocumented truck drivers.
The AI-generated poster, designed in a Transformers-style format, showed a brown-bearded man with the message: “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive, Mr Singh.”
The campaign faced criticism from Indian-American and Sikh advocacy groups, which called it racist propaganda. Democratic leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, also criticised the advertisement.
ICE intensifies immigration crackdown
ICE has increased public arrests since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 as part of his administration’s mass deportation campaign.
The agency’s budget and enforcement operations have expanded, with thousands of people arrested in public places. Some of these operations have also led to confrontations with protesters.
ICE was created under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11 attacks. The agency is responsible for enforcing US immigration laws and investigating immigration-related offences.
Its officers can detain and arrest people suspected of being in the US illegally. However, entering a private home generally requires a judicial warrant, subject to certain legal exceptions.
- PTC NEWS
