Less than a day after President Donald Trump called for stricter CDL standards, a bill was introduced in the Senate.
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced the Dalilah Law, which would stop any state from granting CDLs to illegal aliens.
The night before at the State of the Union address, Trump told the story of Dalilah Coleman, who was injured in a 2024 crash with a tractor-trailer. Dalilah, who was only 5 years old at the time of the crash, suffered serious injuries and was in a coma for weeks.
The truck was driven by Partap Singh, who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August 2025.
Trump used the story to advocate for the passage of the Dalilah Law. Earlier this month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a rule that is expected to remove about 194,000 non-domiciled CDLs.
Sen. Banks wasted no time, introducing the bill less than 24 hours after Trump’s request.
“Too many people have been hurt,” Banks said in a news release. “Too many have been killed. Americans are paying the price because illegal drivers are being handed commercial driver’s licenses like candy and put behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks. That stops now. 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.”
The Dalilah Law would:
- Limit CDLs to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and a handful of categories related to valid, unexpired nonimmigrant visas
- Revoke all trucking licenses currently issued to illegal aliens and aliens with temporary status, whether or not such persons have work authorization
- Require CDL knowledge and skill tests be conducted in English only
Additionally, the bill would withhold funding from states that don’t comply with the law.
The full text of the bill is available here.
As of Thursday, Feb. 26, S3917 already had three co-sponsors.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, posted on X that he also planned to introduce the Dalilah Law. As of Feb. 26, he had not introduced a separate version.
I am glad to announce that I’ll be introducing Dalilah’s Law, mentioned in @POTUS’ #SOTU address last night, to help put an end to woke states like California lawlessly giving illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses that allow them to endanger Americans. https://t.co/Puw22ctRig
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 25, 2026
TruckSafe Tipline
In recent weeks, Banks has been focused on tightening CDL rules.
On Feb. 10, Banks announced the launch of a TruckSafe Tipline, which will serve as a way for truckers and others in the industry to “share concerns about carriers employing or contracting with drivers who are not legally in the United States, who are not authorized to drive a truck or who cannot meet required English-language safety standards.”
Earlier this week, Banks also sent a letter to FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs requesting an immediate investigation into potential chameleon carrier trucking networks in Indiana. LL
Credit: Source link
