President Trump has called for strict laws involving commercial driving licenses granted to illegal immigrants in the US. At the State of the Union address, Trump referred to the tragic case of Dalilah Coleman, who fell victim to a tragic road accident when her car was hit by a speeding truck.
Since the truck was being driven by immigrants, Trump emphasized that granting them the license to commercially drive is the root cause of such accidents. He said, “Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs.”
The President then added, “That’s why tonight, I’m calling on Congress to pass what we will call the ‘Dalilah Law,’ barring any state from granting commercial drivers licenses to illegal aliens.”
According to Indiana Capital Chronicle, the driver who hit Dalilah had arrived in the US from Mexico back in 2022 and was released by the Biden administration.
Eventually, he managed to get a commercial driver’s license (CDL) from California. It should be noted here that, as with regular driver’s licenses, CDLs can be issued by states to drivers even if they do not have valid residential proof.
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The Trump administration has asked states recently to stop offering CDLs to unvetted immigrants. However, Mexican and Canadian truckers, who regularly cross the borders for deliveries are exempt from this rule.
Interestingly, data also shows that a large section of immigrants who had been detained by DHS, citing that they were the worst of the worst, had traffic violation cases against them.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem herself has a nasty history of driving and she had been summoned to the court for the same as well. However, while Noem has not faced any serious consequences for her driving habits, immigrants have ended up being detained for the same.
Now, with the new crackdown on commercial licenses of non-American drivers, among the 3.5 million licensed truckers, at least 194,000 licensed motor carriers could be affected, according to federal officials.
Moreover, earlier this month, more than 550 driving schools were closed by federal inspectors on grounds of those being unqualified operations or shady.
The issue of immigrants not being very good at English has also been highlighted time and again as one of the reasons behind their failure to understand road signs or ability to operate properly while driving.
No more CDLs for illegal immigrants! No more CDLs for people who can’t speak English! https://t.co/3l7NJI2lNE
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) February 26, 2026
The American Trucking Association Trade Group has supported Trump’s decision. In a statement, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said, “We support President Trump’s efforts to ensure that only properly trained, fully qualified, and English-proficient drivers are behind the wheel of 80,000-pound commercial motor vehicles.”
He then added, “We stand ready to work with the administration and Congress to advance policies that raise standards and keep our highways safe.” As per federal officials, there were at least 30 deaths and 17 fatal crashes in 2025.
Moreover, according to federal statistics, green-card CDL holders or American citizens were associated with 85,000 injuries and 4,700 fatalities last year.
With the new stricter driving license law against immigrants, it now remains to be seen if the number of accidents indeed come down in the US.
