WASHINGTON — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is urging the full House of Representatives to immediately schedule H.R. 5688, Dalilah’s Law, for a vote.
Dalilah’s Law passed the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in March by a vote of 35-26.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, OOIDA highlighted the importance of the legislation.
“This legislation is essential to closing dangerous gaps in the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) that continue to put lives at risk on our nation’s highways,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president. “OOIDA is the largest national trade association representing small-business truckers and professional drivers, and this legislation is necessary to help protect their safety and the safety of other highway users. Non-domiciled CDLs permit non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents to operate a commercial motor vehicle. But as OOIDA has previously pointed out to lawmakers and regulators, the process to acquire a non-domiciled CDL has significant safety and screening shortcomings. For example, states have been unable to meet their regulatory obligations to thoroughly screen CDL applicants, such as a requirement to review 10 years of driving history for all motor vehicles when a driver’s records are in a foreign country.
Background
In June 2024, five-year-old Dalilah Coleman suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries when an illegal immigrant driving an eighteen-wheeler caused a six-car pileup. She endured a traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, a broken femur and weeks in a coma. While Coleman survived her injuries, she lives with permanent neurological damage and requires lifelong care.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an Indian national, Partap Singh crossed into the United States illegally through the Mexico border in 2022, was arrested after allegedly causing the crash.
Dalilah and her father were recognized during President Trump’s State of the Union address, during which he called for a federal ban on states issuing CDLs to individuals who lack legal status, with strict English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements so drivers can read road signs and communicate with law enforcement.
The bill is named in her honor.
Safety Shortcomings
“In August 2025, OOIDA asked U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy to suspend states’ authority to issue non-domiciled CDLs due to these clear safety shortcomings, and we supported the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Final Rule to severely restrict the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs issued in March of this year,” Spencer said. “But this is a regulatory fix a future administration could unwind with the stroke of a pen. Only Congress can make these protections permanent. That is why Congress must take up and pass Dalilah’s Law.”
According to OOIDA, the legislation would codify FMCSA’s Final Rule and help prevent future tragedies such as a recent crash in Pennsylvania that cost a state trooper his life. On July 1, a truck driver struck and killed Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. on Interstate 81 while Trooper Pahira was inspecting a tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the road.
“The driver had been operating in the United States illegally after his immigration parole status was terminated, yet he still held a valid non-domiciled CDL from Massachusetts,” Spencer said. “Trooper Pahira’s death is a devastating reminder that our current CDL system lacks the safeguards needed to keep unqualified and unvetted drivers off the road. Had this legislation been previously signed into law, the driver responsible for Trooper Pahira’s death would not have been eligible to receive a CDL in the first place.”
A Non-Partisan Issue
“We respectfully ask that you bring Dalilah’s Law to the floor for a vote without further delay,” Spencer said. “The safety of America’s truckers, law enforcement officers and the motoring public should not be a partisan issue, and it should not wait any longer.”
The bill, introduced Rep. David Rouzer, is supported by OOIDA, the American Trucking Associations, the Truckload Carriers Association, National Tank Truck Carriers and state trucking associations across the country.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
