WASHINGTON — President Trump elevated lax enforcement of non-domiciled truckers to a new level by highlighting in his State of the Union address the story of Dalilah Coleman, a 5-year-old girl whose life was altered by a crash involving an illegal alien truck driver.
The crash occurred in June 2024 in California when an illegal alien from India, Partap Singh, drove his truck into stopped traffic in a construction zone, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Singh was driving at an unsafe speed and failed to stop, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Despite his illegal status, Singh had been issued a CDL by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. He was arrested in August 2025 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was placed in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
Coleman was airlifted to a hospital after suffering critical injuries, and was in a coma for three weeks.
“Against all odds, she is in the first grade, learning to walk, and she is here this evening with her dad Marcus – you are a great inspiration,” Trump said during his speech.
By placing Coleman and her family in the spotlight, Trump bridged two aggressive administration policy fronts: enforcement of immigration law and a rigorous new “America First” standard for the trucking industry.
“Many if not most illegal aliens cannot speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location. That’s why tonight I’m calling on Congress to pass what we will call the Dalilah Law, barring any state from granting commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.”
The Trump administration has spent recent months aggressively auditing state driver licensing agencies for lax enforcement of and improperly issued non-domiciled CDLs, which allow non-citizens or those without permanent residency to drive commercial trucks.
“Tonight, the President highlighted the tragic consequences of a preventable truck crash caused by an unqualified truck driver,” commented Todd Spencer, President of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
“For professional truckers, safety is not political, it is our daily responsibility. Ensuring that every individual operating an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on America’s highways is properly vetted, trained, and held to consistent standards is essential to protecting our members and the motoring public.”
