Dalilah’s Law Act introduces death penalty factor and expands civil suit grounds against immigrants with CDL

A group of Republicans in the Senate introduced the Dalilah’s Law Act, which imposes additional criminal, civil, and immigration consequences for holders of Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDL) who are illegally in the country. In the proposed initiative, such a driver is designated as a 'covered alien' and is subject to a separate set of sanctions for using or presenting a CDL in interstate commerce. Details of the bill are outlined in the publication on the introduction of the Dalilah’s Law Act in the Senate, where the key element is the attempt to tighten responsibility not only for drivers but also for states, officials, and companies that, according to the authors, help circumvent checks when issuing a CDL (Dalilah’s Law Act).

Senators position the document as a response to concerns that drivers are being allowed to operate heavy trucks without proper status and qualification checks. The material mentions '80,000-pound' trucks—this argument is used by the authors to justify a stricter approach to professional access and penalties for violations. The bill, as described, makes the mere act of using or presenting a CDL by a 'covered alien' in interstate activity a separate federal crime. A separate section outlines mandatory minimum penalties that must be applied if an accident was caused by such a driver; the scale is tied to the severity of the consequences.

The most resonant provision in the initiative is the creation of a new aggravating factor for applying the death penalty in cases where a 'covered alien', using a CDL, becomes responsible for a fatal accident. This is not an independent offense but a legal 'enhancer' of punishment within the framework of serious crimes, clearly designed for the most severe investigation and prosecution scenarios. Simultaneously, the bill includes provisions that classify certain convictions as 'aggravated felony' for immigration law purposes, which, as described, automatically includes mandatory detention, deportability, and denial of asylum rights.

A separate part of the Dalilah’s Law Act targets state-level CDL issuance procedures and oversight of how states verify an applicant's right to work. The document states that applicants must provide written confirmation that employment verification has been completed through E-Verify or an equivalent state mechanism. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposed to be given the authority to request documents from states confirming compliance with these requirements, and states are required to maintain and provide these records upon request. This design, according to the authors, makes not only the actions of a specific DMV verifiable but also the chain of confirmations on which the license was issued.

The bill also establishes personal responsibility for state officials. The initiative description mentions the creation of a new criminal offense for officials who do not use (or instruct not to use) E-Verify or a similar tool before issuing a CDL. This is a rare level of 'targeting' specific public servants in transportation initiatives, not just agencies and procedures. Simultaneously, civil penalties are introduced for businesses that provide 'substantial assistance' to a 'covered alien' in obtaining a CDL—the wording, judging by the description, is aimed at intermediaries and any structures accompanying document processing.

Another section expands opportunities for legal claims. The bill provides new grounds for private lawsuits by victims of accidents if the driver was a 'covered alien' using a CDL. Additionally, mechanisms are introduced to pressure the DOT and states through the courts: 'affected states' are given the right to seek an injunction to compel the Secretary of Transportation to request documentation from states suspected of non-compliance. Additionally, the Attorney General (through the DOJ) is proposed to be given the right to initiate separate civil suits against states that do not require E-Verify or an equivalent before issuing a CDL.

The authors of the initiative tied the bill to a high-profile 2024 accident involving a girl named Dalilah (Dalilah Coleman). The material dedicated to the Dalilah’s Law Act states that the bill is named after this case; it is also claimed that the participant in that accident was an Indian citizen, Partep Singh, and that his CDL was allegedly issued in California. This detail is important because CDL issuance and administration often become the subject of political discussions at the state level—and in this case, the bill's authors, as described, attempt to legally 'weave' federal control into points where regulation previously predominated through standards and compliance rather than direct sanctions against states and officials.

The description of the Dalilah’s Law Act also outlines a separate reporting framework: the Attorney General is required to prepare a report within 180 days on accidents caused by 'covered aliens' using a CDL and on states that issued CDLs to such individuals. For the market, this could become a source of formalized data, but the bill itself, as outlined in the material, does not contain figures on the current scale of the problem—the emphasis is on the mechanism for collecting information after the potential passage of the law.

Politically, the initiative is presented as a response to President Donald Trump's statements, who, according to senators, called on Congress to take action following reports of accidents involving 'unqualified' CDL drivers. The material also lists the senators who introduced the document: John Cornyn, Ted Budd, Shelley Moore Capito, Cynthia Lummis, and Tommy Tuberville. At the time of the initiative's description, the bill is being introduced; there is no information on committee proceedings, votes, or agreed formulations with the House of Representatives in the provided source.

Meanwhile, other versions of similar initiatives are circulating in the agenda surrounding 'Dalilah’s Law', creating confusion in the details—from the list of sponsors to the set of provisions. In particular, some publications and press releases on related projects focus on banning CDL issuance to individuals without legal status, English language requirements, and increased control over schools and training providers, but without mentions of the 'death penalty aggravating factor' and without the immigration consequences described in the Dalilah’s Law Act at the 'aggravated felony' level. In the material on the introduction of the specific Dalilah’s Law Act, this point is highlighted as a central part of the description and presented as a key tightening compared to ordinary criminal practice in traffic accidents.

If the bill proceeds further, its most practical elements for companies and insurance lawyers lie in the area of expanding grounds for civil lawsuits and establishing new federal offenses around CDL use during illegal residency. For states and their DMVs, the main focus is on documenting checks and potential official liability, while for the DOT and DOJ, new powers are outlined for requests, reporting, and court enforcement of the procedures described in the Dalilah’s Law Act (Dalilah’s Law Act).