ICE has lodged a detainer for the driver accused of killing State Trooper Michael Pahira last week. Meanwhile, federal and Massachusetts authorities continue to trade blame over the immigration status and commercial licensing of him.
The political fallout intensified Monday when Dept. of Homeland Security’s Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis released a statement announcing the detainer and sharply criticizing both the Biden administration and Massachusetts officials for allowing the driver, 33-year-old Michael Bon, of Brockton, Mass., behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle.
“This Haitian illegal alien was RELEASED into our country by the Biden Administration, and the sanctuary state of Massachusetts gave him a Commercial Driver’s License,” Bis said. “Now, because of these reckless policies, a Pennsylvania State Trooper is dead after a crash that was 100% preventable.”
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) fired back in a statement to Coal Region Canary, calling Pahira’s death a “horrific and terrible tragedy” but shifting responsibility back to federal policies. An RMV spokesperson said Bon’s non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) was issued and renewed in accordance with federal law, noting that the driver “was ruled eligible based on the Trump administration database and allowed to drive by federal law and Trump administration policies.”
According to federal and state records included in in a Boston Herald report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection admitted Bon into the country from Haiti as a parolee in July 2024. He applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in October 2024, but it was never granted. Bon obtained a Non-Domiciled CDL from Massachusetts in March 2025. Although federal authorities terminated Bon’s parole on June 13, 2025, the Massachusetts RMV renewed his CDL in February 2026, the Herald reported.
The RMV defended the renewal, saying the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database still listed Bon as eligible at the time. A new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration final rule, which directs states not to renew non-domiciled CDLs for such drivers, went into effect on March 16.
RMV says Bon would have been rejected under this rule if he attempted to renew next year.
Locally, the crash has prompted immediate federal immigration action. Schuylkill County Sheriff Shawn Butler, who oversees his office’s role in the ICE 287(g) program, confirmed that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer has been lodged against Bon.
Butler told The Canary the detainer changes nothing regarding local prosecution, except that Bon effectively can not post bail. Bon remains held at the Schuylkill County Prison on $700,000 bail following his arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Christian Lengel last week.
If Bon is convicted, Butler said ICE could apprehend him, though that will depend on whether Pennsylvania authorities choose to have Bon serve his state sentence first.
Bon faces felony counts of vehicular homicide and vehicular aggravated assault, misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and involuntary manslaughter, and several summary traffic offenses.
The charges stem from a 7 a.m. crash on Interstate 81 southbound near Mile Marker 119. Police said Bon’s commercial vehicle left the roadway, striking the side-view mirror of Pahira’s marked patrol vehicle, which had its emergency lights activated on the right shoulder. Bon’s truck then slammed into a stationary tractor-trailer that Pahira was inspecting, pinning the trooper before both commercial vehicles caught fire.
Nearby construction workers pulled Pahira from the wreckage. He was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-East in Pottsville, where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the inspected vehicle remains under medical treatment.
Pahira, 44, was a 2001 graduate of North Schuylkill High School and a 20-year veteran of the State Police serving on its Motor Vehicle Enforcement team. He will be laid to rest on Wednesday. Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Pottsville following the crash and ordered flags across the Commonwealth to fly at half-staff.
RELATED:
Subscribe to Coal Region Canary
Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!Support Coal Region Canary
Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...