{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/pass-the-no-licenses-for-illegal-drivers-or-truckers-act-to-protect-american-citizens/", "Pass The No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act to Protect American Citizens", "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", "\u201cIt is time to make it clear that giving state-issued licenses to illegal immigrants is not in the best interest of our nation\u2019s safety or security\u2026 Every state in America should follow Wyoming\u2019s lead.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today spoke about his bill, the No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act.\n\nThe No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act will require states to verify that every person who applies for a driver\u2019s license, including a commercial driver\u2019s license or for government ID, is in our country legally. States that refuse must forfeit 10 percent of their federal transportation funding. The funds that are withheld will go to states that follow the law.\n\nClick HERE to watch Senator Barrasso\u2019s remarks.\n\nSen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks:\n\n\u201cI come to the floor to express the beliefs of so many Americans, and that is that illegal immigrants should never be given a driver\u2019s license in the United States of America. It\u2019s just common sense. These are people who are here illegally.\n\n\u201cSo today, I am introducing legislation to stop states from issuing driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants. And that includes regular licenses as well as commercial driver\u2019s licenses. Every United States Senator needs to say where they stand on this critical issue. It is time to make it clear that giving state-issued licenses to illegal immigrants is not in the best interest of our nation\u2019s safety or our nation\u2019s security.\n\n\u201cIn February, President Trump called on Congress to ban states from issuing driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants. My legislation does just that. And then it goes further. The bill I\u2019m introducing today \u2013 the No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act \u2013 it requires states to verify that every person who applies for a driver\u2019s license \u2013 every single one \u2013 including certainly a commercial driver\u2019s license \u2013 they need to prove that they are in this country legally. That\u2019s not just for driver\u2019s licenses. It also should be for government IDs. States that refuse are going to be forced to forfeit 10 percent of the federal transportation funding that they receive from the federal government. And that\u2019s a lot of money for many states, especially some of these big blue states. The funds that we withhold will go to the states that actually follow the law.\n\n\u201cSo, let\u2019s put it in plain terms, what this means. California. If in California, Governor Gavin Newsom continues to issue driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants \u2013 and they\u2019re doing it right now \u2013 California would surrender ten percent of the money that they get from the federal government for highways. They\u2019re getting $5.8 billion. So, they would surrender $580 million, which would go to the states like mine and yours, Mr. President, that comply with the law.\n\n\u201cLook, this is a serious and a significant amount of money. It\u2019s a significant penalty. And I believe it\u2019s worth it in order to keep the American people safe.\n\n\u201cAstonishingly, there are nineteen states in this nation and the District of Columbia, who currently provide driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants. No proof of citizenship is needed. In some of those states, such as Oregon, it\u2019s even worse than that. Because they have laws in place called \u2018motor-voter\u2019 laws. So, what\u2019s a \u2018motor-voter\u2019 law? Well, it means that when an illegal immigrant is given a driver\u2019s license, the state then automatically registers them to vote. I mean think about that. You go as an illegal immigrant \u2013 you get a driver\u2019s license \u2013 and then they register you to vote. And the Democrats say they don\u2019t try to get illegal immigrants to vote. They make it automatic in the state of Oregon.\n\n\u201cWe know that in Oregon, hundreds of illegal immigrants have been registered to vote because of this policy which is irresponsible. And they know it. They don\u2019t seem to care. This, to me, raises serious questions about election integrity. Allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver\u2019s licenses make our roads less safe and it also makes our elections less secure.\n\n\u201cThe No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act is part of the larger Republican drive to keep our nation safe. The last administration threw open our borders to illegal immigrants. More than 10 million illegal immigrants flooded into our nation. Under President Trump and Republicans, the border is now secure, and law enforcement has been restored. In the last 11 months, absolutely zero, zero illegal immigrants have been released into this country. President Trump and Republicans stopped this dangerous policy of catch and release. Catch illegal immigrants and release them into the country. Never again. Republicans are building on this success. And we are going to fully fund and fully support the men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.\n\n\u201cNow, some Democrats wrongly believe that giving official government IDs to illegal immigrants makes America safer. They\u2019re wrong. And they know they\u2019re wrong. They ignore every lesson that we have learned from previous deadly crashes. Remember Delilah Coleman. She was a five-year-old girl who nearly died in a car accident caused by an illegal immigrant truck driver. President Trump told her story right here in Congress during his State of the Union.\n\n\u201cDelilah\u2019s story is sadly becoming all too common. Just days after President Trump celebrated her remarkable, miraculous recovery during the State of the Union Address, there was another deadly crash in Indiana this time. An illegal immigrant truck driver caused it. Four American citizens were killed. Well, what about the driver? The driver entered this country because of the policies of Joe Biden and the Democrats. He received a commercial driver\u2019s license because of the radical policies of the Democrat Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. This should never have happened. And my bill is written to make sure tragedies like this one will never happen again.\n\n\u201cMy bill gives states a simple choice: protect American citizens or lose federal funding. We know that there are illegal immigrants holding commercial driver\u2019s licenses all across the United States. And there is no guarantee that all of them \u2013 or any of them \u2013 meet the same training and safety standards that are required of American truck drivers. This should concern all of us.\n\n\u201cMany states run by Democrats would rather protect illegal immigrant criminals than protect law-abiding citizens. In my home state of Wyoming, we do things differently than what comes out of Washington and so many of these Democrat-run states. We do not issue driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants. Furthermore, if an illegal immigrant is arrested driving in Wyoming with a license from another state, it\u2019s a crime, punishable by up to six months in jail.\n\n\u201cSo, let me tell you about Wyoming. Since last October, officers in Laramie County have arrested 40, 40 illegal immigrants driving commercial vehicles. Officers in Sweetwater County have arrested 14 more. Officers in Crook County arrested more still. None of these were issued in Wyoming, but these are truck drivers going across the country, carrying cargo. They\u2019ve been stopped because they provide danger. All these illegal immigrants were turned over to ICE and removed. That\u2019s how the system ought to work. Every state in America should follow Wyoming\u2019s lead.\n\n\u201cThe Senate has a duty to protect American citizens. I have a responsibility to protect the people of Wyoming. I believe the Senate should pass the No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act. I\u2019d like to thank my colleagues Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Senator John Cornyn of Texas for joining me and cosponsoring the legislation. We need to stop states from issuing driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants. We need to keep America safe. It is time for this Senate to stand up for law-abiding American citizens, not illegal immigrants.\u201d\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/pass-the-no-licenses-for-illegal-drivers-or-truckers-act-to-protect-american-citizens/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6374499537050724, "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"}