{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-introduces-no-licenses-for-illegal-drivers-or-truckers-act/", "Barrasso Introduces No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act", "2026-04-16", "2026", "2026-04", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation to strengthen immigration enforcement and ensure safer roads for all Americans. The No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act requires states to verify legal status before issuing a driver\u2019s license, commercial driver\u2019s license, or personal identification card.\n\nStates that fail to comply with this requirement will face a 10 percent reduction in their federal highway funding. These funds would then be redirected to states that follow the law and prioritize public safety.\n\n\u201cMillions of illegal immigrants flooded into the United States under the Biden administration\u2019s radical open border policies. Since many illegal immigrants do not speak English and cannot read road signs, these drivers make roads less safe for the law-abiding public,\u201d said Senator Barrasso. \u201cWhile Wyoming already prohibits illegal immigrants from getting driver\u2019s licenses, 19 states and the District of Columbia continue to issue personal and commercial driver\u2019s licenses without verifying legal status. My legislation will ensure states follow the law and prioritize public safety.\u201d\n\nSenator Barrasso also spoke about the legislation today on the floor of the United States Senate.\n\nThe No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).\n\n\u201cWe must defund woke sanctuary states who continue to put illegal aliens in the driver\u2019s seat and Americans in the back seat,\u201d said Senator Cornyn. \u201cThis legislation puts Americans first and keeps our roads safe by not only cutting federal highway funding for any state that allows illegal aliens to obtain a state-issued or commercial driver\u2019s license but also redirecting those dollars to states like Texas that actually enforce the law.\u201d\n\n\u201cDemocrats have spent years putting illegal immigrants ahead of American citizens, and handing out driver\u2019s licenses to people who broke our laws is another example. This bill puts a stop to that. States that thumb their nose at federal immigration law should lose highway funding, and those dollars should rightfully go to states that follow the law. Wyoming has always done things the right way, and it\u2019s past time the rest of the country catches up,\u201d said Senator Lummis.\n\nIn Wyoming, local law enforcement has already encountered multiple cases of illegal immigrants operating commercial motor vehicles. Since October 1, 2025, the Laramie County Sheriff\u2019s Office has arrested 40 individuals who were in the country illegally and driving commercial vehicles. Officers in Sweetwater County arrested 14 more. In Crook County, additional arrests have been made involving illegal immigrants holding CDLs. All were subsequently removed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).\n\n\u201cA commercial license shouldn\u2019t be a question mark. It should mean the state verified lawful presence before that driver ever entered interstate commerce. When that doesn\u2019t happen on the front end, local law enforcement, lawful truckers, and the traveling public bear the risk on the back end, where it matters most \u2014 out on the pavement,\u201d said Sweetwater County, WY Sheriff John Grossnickle.\n\n\u201cThe Laramie County Sheriff\u2019s Office conducted a 3-day Operation \u2018Truck Around Find Out,\u2019 which resulted in 177 traffic stops and 32 illegal immigrants being arrested. This operation highlighted the need for federal legislation to mandate states to \u2018Find Out\u2019 a person\u2019s legal status before giving them the keys to an 80,000-pound truck, and to prevent law enforcement from having to deal with dangerous, unvetted drivers on the roadside or after a crash,\u201d said Laramie County, WY Sheriff Brian Kozak.\n\nToo many innocent Americans have faced tragic consequences due to the actions of illegal immigrants and sanctuary states. In recent months, there have been several incidents of illegal immigrant commercial truck drivers causing serious and sometimes deadly road accidents, including in California, Indiana, and Florida. The No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act will help prevent these tragedies and stand up for the safety and security of law-abiding American citizens.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-17T05:47:03Z", "2026-04-17T05:48:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-introduces-no-licenses-for-illegal-drivers-or-truckers-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8570430800318718, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}