Indiana Senator Jim Banks on Wednesday introduced the Dalilah Law, less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump called on Congress to adopt the measure that would require states to remove illegal immigrant truck drivers from the road.
During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump recalled the story of then-5-year-old Dalilah Coleman, who in June 2024 was involved in a violent wreck when "an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, traveling at 60 miles an hour or more, plowed into her stopped car," Trump recalled. "The driver was an illegal alien, let in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver’s license by open-borders politicians in California."
The driver, an illegal alien from India named Partap Singh, allegedly entered the U.S. through Mexico in October 2022. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) Traffic Crash Report states that Singh drove at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic and a construction zone.
"This is a national crisis and I'm sick of it," Banks said from the Senate floor Wednesday. "We need real accountability and a major overhaul of the system."
As a condition of Department of Transportation funding, the Dalilah Law would require states to limit trucking licenses to United States citizens, lawful permanent residents, and certain work visa holders only; to revoke all trucking licenses currently issued to illegal aliens and aliens with temporary status, whether or not such persons have work authorization; and to offer CDL knowledge and skill tests in English only.
"This is common sense," Banks said. "This will be a common-sense law."
More than 14,000 drivers have been placed out of service for English Language Proficiency violations. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Derek Barrs last week announced action that would require commercial driver’s license (CDL) tests be administered in English.
Senator Banks' bill requires that states re-certify "all current CDL holders" within 180 days of the law's enactment. Recertification requires verification that the driver meets the citizenship, residency, or visa requirements listed above; is proficient in the English language; and has passed all required knowledge and skills examinations in English. States must revoke the license of any individual who fails to recertify within the 180-day window or who is found during recertification to be ineligible based on status, English proficiency, or testing language.
The bill also calls for the Secretary of Transportation to disqualify an individual from operating a CMV for life if they operate a vehicle without the required citizenship, residency, or visa status (unless they possess specific travel authorizations or admission records).
Senator Banks earlier this week sent a letter to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs calling for an immediate investigation into potential “chameleon carrier” trucking networks operating in Indiana.
Marcus Coleman, who attended the State of the Union address Tuesday night with his daughter, posted to his X (formerly Twitter) account that the particulars of the Dalilah Law include elements geared toward slowing chameleon carriers. However, there is no mention in the text of the bill itself of this effort.
Banks also launched the Truck Safety Tipline for truckers and those who work in the trucking 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.
