What to Know About ‘Dalilah Law,’ Trump’s Proposal to Target Undocumented Immigrants’ Driver’s Licenses

During his State of the Union address, Donald Trump railed against “illegal aliens,” blaming them for America’s drug problems, corruption, and even traffic incidents. Citing the case of a young girl who was severely injured after being hit by a truck driven by an undocumented immigrant, the President urged lawmakers to pass a law that would bar undocumented immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses.

Named after the girl, Dalilah Coleman, “Dalilah Law” appears to be the latest effort by the White House to tie immigration enforcement to public safety, though there is no indication that a specific bill has been formally introduced in Congress.

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Under current rules, immigrants who are not legally in the U.S. are already not allowed to obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), although some states offer them standard, non-commercial driver’s licenses. Federal oversight has found that some states have improperly issued CDLs to non-citizens without proper legal status or who have failed to revoke CDLs from immigrants whose documentation had expired. As of Tuesday night, it was unclear what Trump’s proposal would exactly seek to do.

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Several states, including California, currently allow drivers to take their tests in other languages although they are also required to demonstrate proficiency in English. The Transportation Department also announced earlier this month that more than 550 commercial driving schools across the country must close for failing to meet safety standards.

In September, the Transportation Department also moved to tighten requirements for commercial driver’s licenses for non-citizens, including restricting the issuance of new licenses to three categories of visa-holders and requiring states to verify the immigration status of license-seekers in a federal database. A District of Columbia court temporarily blocked the restrictions in November, ruling that the federal government failed to “articulate a satisfactory explanation for how the rule would promote safety.”

Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implemented the finalized rules, effective March 16, with largely the same restrictions, limiting the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses for non-citizens to holders of H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visas. That effectively restricts people granted asylum, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients with work authorization from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses.

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It is not clear how many undocumented immigrants currently hold CDLs in all states.

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