Washington, February 26 – A US senator has introduced legislation in Congress that would prohibit states from issuing commercial driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, linking federal transportation funding to compliance and citing a series of fatal crashes involving heavy trucks.
Republican Senator Jim Banks said his proposed "Dalilah Law" would require states to take specific steps to remove "undocumented truck drivers" from American roads as a condition of receiving funding from the Department of Transportation.
A day earlier, during the State of the Union address, President Donald Trump called on lawmakers to pass legislation "called 'the Dalilah Law,' which would bar any state from granting commercial driver's licenses to undocumented aliens."
Banks said the measure was driven by the increasing number of fatalities.
"Too many people have been injured. Too many have been killed. Americans are paying the price because undocumented drivers are being given commercial driver's licenses like candy and put behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks. This must stop. The Dalilah Law makes it clear: if you are here illegally, you do not get a CDL. We need to act, and we need to act now," he said.
Under the bill, states would be required to limit trucking licenses to United States citizens, lawful permanent residents, and certain work visa holders. They would also be required to revoke trucking licenses issued to "undocumented aliens and aliens with temporary status, regardless of whether such persons have work authorization."
The proposal further mandates that CDL knowledge and skill tests be offered only in English.
Earlier this week, Banks wrote to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek D. Barrs seeking an immediate investigation into potential "chameleon carrier" trucking networks operating in Indiana.
"I urge you to investigate potential chameleon carrier trucking networks operating in Indiana," he wrote in a February 23 letter.
The letter cited the death of Terry Schultz, who "died after being struck by a semi-truck driven by an Indian national who reportedly crossed the southern border illegally and received trucking licenses from New York and Indiana."
"Seven Hoosiers have been killed in six months by undocumented truck drivers. This is a national crisis," Banks wrote.
The legislation is named after Dalilah Coleman, a first-grader who was severely injured in a six-car pile-up caused by "an undocumented alien driving a semi-truck with a CDL." According to the press release, the driver "crossed the border in 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration."
The statement also referred to a June 20, 2024, crash in California involving "Partap Singh – an undocumented alien from India," who was issued a commercial driver's license by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.
Other incidents cited include a fatal crash in Indiana involving an Indian national, a Georgian national granted a CDL by New York State, and a driver from Serbia and Montenegro who had owned two trucking companies despite being in the United States illegally since 2011.
Individual states issue commercial driver's licenses, although federal rules govern interstate trucking. Immigration status and eligibility for licenses remain politically charged issues in the United States.