Dive Brief:
- During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump pressed Congress to bar CDLs from people living in or entering the U.S. illegally.
- He recognized Dalilah Coleman and her family among attendees of the address present at the U.S. Capitol and noted how she was tragically injured at age 5 in 2024 when a tractor-trailer crashed into multiple vehicles.
- The truck driver alleged to be responsible for the collision was taken into custody in August 2025 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The details of the case were not immediately available.
Dive Insight:
In his speech, Trump claimed many "illegal aliens" lack English proficiency to understand road signs for safety. His administration has been repeatedly highlighting U.S. trucking crashes involving foreign drivers, referring to their legal status and pushing for changes.
A series of other Trump administration changes during his second term have sought to address safety concerns, such as making English language proficiency violations an out-of-service violation, but that is not attached to legal immigration status.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently issued a final rule to increase the documentation that states require when issuing and renewing non-domiciled CDLs. It’s slated to be effective mid-March.
Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger gave the Democrats’ response to the State of the Union address, speaking about immigration policy in general. She noted federal immigration authorities have shot and killed people in recent months. Congress currently faces a funding gap to the Department of Homeland Security due to a Senate impasse over immigration enforcement regulations.
No sponsor was named during Trump’s speech, and a draft bill was not immediately apparent in the public domain.
For truckers, safety is not political but a daily responsibility, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said in a statement, calling the truck crash involving Dalilah preventable and the result of an unqualified truck driver.
“OOIDA and the professional truck drivers we represent will continue supporting efforts at USDOT and in Congress to strengthen licensing standards and training requirements that will make our roads safer for everyone,” Spencer said.
Following the crash, Dalilah was in a coma for three weeks and required six months of hospital treatment before she could return home, DHS previously noted. She is now in first grade and learning to walk, Trump said.
Trump continued to draw a line between the type of immigration his administration would allow, saying “we will always allow people to come in legally.”
