March 16, 2026 For Immediate Release Contact: Caroline French, (202) 225-2731
Chairman Rouzer Introduces Dalilah’s Law to Strengthen Road Safety and Save American Lives
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC) released updated legislative text of Dalilah’s Law, a measure to strengthen Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) requirements in the United States, ensure commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers are properly trained and meet safety standards, require CMV drivers to be able to read and understand the English language, and prevent unqualified and illegal immigrants that could pose a significant safety hazard from obtaining a CDL through lax licensing enforcement by states.
Dalilah’s Law is named in honor of Dalilah Coleman, the 5-year-old girl who was struck and severely injured by an illegal alien driving a semi-truck. Dalilah was a guest of President Trump at this year’s State of the Union address, where the President called for Congress to pass such a law to block illegal and unqualified immigrants from obtaining a CDL in the United States. The accident that caused Dalilah’s injury is only one example of recent incidents caused by drivers who were not qualified to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle and should not have been given CDLs.
“Commercial driver’s license standards are in place for a reason: to ensure that only those qualified to drive a truck are allowed to do so. Dalilah’s story is the heartbreaking consequence of what happens when those standards are both insufficient and breached,” said Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC), the lead sponsor of the legislation. “Unqualified, illegal foreign drivers behind the wheel of an 80-ton rig put the public in danger. President Trump called on Congress to end this systematic abuse, and Dalilah’s Law answers the call. I look forward to working with Secretary Duffy and Chairman Graves to get this bill to the President’s desk to prevent tragedies like Dalilah’s from happening again.”
The updated bill text of H.R. 5688, now known as Dalilah’s Law, improves safety and CDL policies by:
Ensuring all CDL holders understand English, road signs, and law enforcement officers;
Placing drivers who fail to meet the Law’s requirements and safety standards out-of-service;
Requiring states to verify that they are not issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants;
Significantly increasing penalties for states failing to comply with the Law, through withholding of Federal funds;
Banning shady foreign dispatch services and brokers, who have fueled a surge in freight fraud and cargo theft; and
Cracking down on “CDL mills” to ensure drivers entering the industry are receiving adequate training.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will mark up Dalilah’s Law at 10:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.
A link to the live webcast of Wednesday’s markup will be available here.
Background:
H.R. 5688 was first introduced by Chairman Rouzer on October 3, 2025, as the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act, to end the issuance of CDLs to illegal immigrants who lack the English proficiency, road-rule knowledge, and safety skills needed to safely operate CMVs.
The bill parallels efforts by President Trump and Transportation Secretary Duffy to crack down on this safety crisis that was fueled by the open border policies of the Biden Administration, and it codifies many of the Administration’s actions to ensure safety on the nation’s roads.
The legislation also includes a provision from Rep. Dave Taylor’s (R-OH) Commercial Motor Vehicle English Proficiency Act requiring English Language Proficiency for all CDL holders.
