{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2026/03/27/budd-joins-cornyn-colleagues-to-introduce-the-dalilahs-law-act/", "Budd Joins Cornyn, Colleagues to Introduce Bill Preventing Illegal Aliens from Receiving Commercial Driver\u2019s Licenses", "2026-03-27", "2026", "2026-03", "Republican", "Senate", "NC", "Ted Budd", "B001305", "www.budd.senate.gov", "budd", "https://www.budd.senate.gov/category/news/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) joined Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) in introducing the Dalilah\u2019s Law Act, which would create new criminal and civil penalties for illegal aliens who obtain or use Commercial Driver\u2019s Licenses (CDL) as well as the Democrat-led states that issue CDLs to these illegal aliens. This legislation delivers on President Trump\u2019s State of the Union remarks calling on Congress to take action before any more American lives are threatened or lost on our roadways due to unvetted, untrained illegal alien commercial drivers.\n\n\u201cFar too many innocent Americans have faced life-altering consequences due to the actions of illegal aliens and the negligence of sanctuary states. A five-year-old little girl is now living with significant injuries because an illegal alien recklessly drove an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle after being issued a CDL by the state of California. This cannot happen again. I am proud to join Senator Cornyn in introducing the Dalilah\u2019s Law Act to ensure that no state bypasses necessary driver vetting requirements when an illegal alien attempts to obtain a CDL,\u201d said Senator Budd.\n\n\u201cIt is reprehensible that innocent Americans like Dalilah Coleman continue to pay the price for Democrats\u2019 open-border policies, which have led to illegal aliens \u2013 who cannot speak English or read our road signs \u2013 dangerously operating massive commercial vehicles on our roadway. Our bill would build on President Trump\u2019s State of the Union remarks honoring Dalilah to put an end to this pull factor and hold illegal alien drivers and the sanctuary states that enable them accountable,\u201d said Senator Cornyn.\n\nU.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) also joined in introducing the legislation.\n\nRead the full bill text HERE.\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nIn 2024, Partap Singh, an illegal alien from India, caused a multi-car pileup while driving a commercial 18-wheeler in California. Even though he was an illegal alien, California still issued Singh a Commercial Driver\u2019s License (CDL), allowing him to operate the semi-truck. The crash resulted in five-year-old Dalilah Coleman suffering life-altering injuries. Sadly, Dalilah is not the only American who has been killed or injured by illegal aliens operating commercial vehicles after sanctuary states issued them CDLs.\n\nBuilding on President Trump\u2019s State of the Union remarks calling for Congress to pass legislation to hold states that issue CDLs to illegal aliens accountable, the Dalilah\u2019s Law Act would:\n\n\u2022 Create a new criminal penalty for covered aliens using or presenting a CDL in interstate commerce;\n\n\u2022 Institute mandatory minimums for accidents caused by covered aliens using a CDL, depending on the severity of the accident;\n\n\u2022 Create a new death penalty aggravating factor when a covered alien using a CDL kills another person in a motor vehicle accident;\n\n\u2022 Create new immigration consequences, including that a covered alien who is convicted of using a CDL would be an aggravated felon, triggering mandatory detention, deportability, and making the alien ineligible for asylum;\n\n\u2022 Require individuals applying for a CDL to provide written documentation certifying successful employment eligibility verification through E-Verify or a state-established verification process and authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to request and review state documentation confirming CDL applicant eligibility verification;\n\n\u2022 Require states to maintain and provide verification records to DOT upon request to ensure consistent compliance with federal CDL standards;\n\n\u2022 Create a new criminal offense for state officials who do not use, or direct others not to use, E-Verify or an equivalent state program to confirm immigration status before issuing a CDL;\n\n\u2022 Create new civil penalties for any business that provides substantial assistance to a covered alien acquiring a CDL;\n\n\u2022 Create new individual causes of action for people injured by a covered alien using a CDL;\n\n\u2022 Require a report from the U.S. Attorney General within 180 days on accidents caused by covered aliens using CDLs and states issuing CDLs to covered aliens;\n\n\u2022 Grant standing to any state harmed by another state\u2019s violation of the new E-Verify requirement to bring suit against the Secretary of Transportation to obtain an injunction requiring the Secretary to request documentation from the issuing State;\n\n\u2022 And create a new civil action allowing the U.S. Attorney General to bring suit against a state not requiring use of E-Verify or a state equivalent before issuing a CDL.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "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.budd.senate.gov/2026/03/27/budd-joins-cornyn-colleagues-to-introduce-the-dalilahs-law-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7874560542404652, "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"}