ICE Enforcement and Detainers

An Indian national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2017, Tarsem Singh, has been indicted in Darke County, Ohio on vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide charges after allegedly leading deputies on a Feb. 16 high‑speed chase that ended in a crash killing his 17‑year‑old pregnant passenger, Ashlee Holmes, and her unborn child and injuring another driver. The Darke County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy clocked the SUV at around 100 mph and that Singh then fled for roughly five miles at speeds up to 124 mph before striking an eastbound vehicle on a curve; Holmes was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene, while the other driver was hospitalized with injuries. DHS says Singh is being held on $1 million bond and that ICE has lodged an immigration detainer with Ohio authorities to keep him in custody for removal if he is released from criminal charges. Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis used the case to argue that "illegal aliens should not be driving cars on America’s roads" and to justify the detainer as a way to prevent Singh from "ever" being released back behind the wheel, rhetoric that is already being amplified in partisan online debates over whether immigration policy bears responsibility for individual violent or reckless acts. The case is likely to become another flashpoint in national discussions about ICE detainers, local cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and how often serious crashes or violent crimes are used to argue for broader crackdowns on undocumented immigrants.