[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S683-S684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Lankford, and Mrs.
Capito):
S. 3917. A bill to prohibit the issuance of commercial driver's
licenses to individuals who are not citizens or lawful permanent
residents of the United States or holders of certain work visas, and
for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation.
Mr. BANKS. Mr. President, I came to the floor 2 weeks ago to speak
about illegal immigrant truckdrivers causing chaos on our roads.
Earlier this month, a father, his two sons, and a family friend were
killed on an Indiana highway when an illegal immigrant swerved his
semitruck right into them.
Two weeks ago, when I came to the floor to speak about this, I asked
how many more people would have to die before we get serious about
deporting illegal immigrants, and I am absolutely devastated that we
now have one more name since I spoke here 2 weeks ago to add to that
count. Tragically, just last week, another Hoosier was killed on an
Indiana highway by an illegal immigrant truckdriver in a horrific
accident. Terry Schultz was a 64-year-old man who was killed by an
illegal immigrant from India when the illegal truckdriver reportedly
ran a red light. Although the truckdriver is now in ICE custody,
nothing can bring back Terry Schultz.
I am tired of coming to this floor and sharing the news about people
being killed on Indiana roads because of illegal immigrants. This is
the eighth Hoosier killed by an illegal immigrant on an Indiana road in
just the last 6 months, that I know of, and the seventh because of
illegal immigrant truckdrivers, specifically.
This is a national crisis, and I am sick of it. We need real
accountability and a major overhaul of the system. Too much blood has
already been stained on Indiana's roads. Things need to change, and
they need to change now.
Last night, President Trump delivered an incredible State of the
Union Address. One of the President's guests was a little girl named
Delilah Coleman. When Delilah was just 5 years old, she suffered life-
changing injuries caused by an illegal immigrant driving a semitruck in
California, and it was the Democrat State of California that gave the
illegal immigrant his commercial driver's license.
She is one of way too many people who have been hurt or killed by
illegal immigrant truckers on our roads. Eight Hoosiers have been
seriously injured--again, that is just what I know of--on Indiana roads
by illegal immigrant drivers in the past 6 months. And that is just the
eight that we know of.
Thank God Delilah, whom we saw last night up in the Gallery, is
recovering well. In honor of Delilah, President Trump called on
Congress to pass the Delilah Law, which would bar any State in the
country from granting an illegal immigrant a commercial driver's
license.
Many illegal immigrants cannot speak English or read the basic road
signs. They have no business being on our roads, especially not behind
the wheel of a semitruck.
Well, today, I am answering President Trump's call, and today, I am
introducing the Delilah Law in the U.S. Senate. The Delilah Law not
only bars States from giving CDLs to illegal immigrants, but it also
revokes all trucking licenses that are currently issued to illegals and
mandates that the CDL knowledge and skills tests are only given in
English. This is common sense.
This will be a commonsense law, and I hope that we will get a chance
to vote on it in the Senate very soon.
Another way that we can make our roads safer is by aggressively going
after chameleon carriers that are employing illegal drivers. As I said
2 weeks ago, when I spoke on the floor about this, chameleon carriers
are trucking companies that, after being shut down or heavily fined,
just disguise themselves by changing their name or address or
Department of Transportation number to continue operating.
[[Page S684]]
It turns out that the trucking company that employed the illegal
immigrant who killed those four people earlier this month in Jay
County--they were four Amish men--was a company called AJ Partners. And
they have been put out of service after it was investigated by the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and deemed a chameleon
carrier. Since then, Secretary Sean Duffy and the Department of
Transportation have shut down two other shady carriers connected to AJ
Partners, as well as the sham school that helped the illegal immigrant
get his CDL in the first place.
Last year, the Department of Transportation closed 7,500 sham
commercial driver schools, known as CDL mills. The Department of
Transportation has also placed 14,000 drivers out of service for
English language proficiency violations. And I want to thank Secretary
Duffy right here, right now, for his leadership. The Department of
Transportation is cracking down, and what they are doing is making our
roads safer because of it.
The carrier reportedly involved in the accident that killed Terry
Schultz just last week was incorporated from an address in Greenwood,
IN. That is the principal place of business for six other carriers. Six
carriers at one address.
Earlier this week, I sent a letter to the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration and urged them to investigate carriers operating
out of Greenwood and elsewhere in my home State. We need to know about
chameleon carriers that are operating in Indiana and shut them down,
and that is why, last week, my office announced the creation of the
Truck Safety Tip Line. The tip line is for those who work in the
trucking industry to report concerns about companies that are operating
illegally, hiring drivers who can't read or speak English, and hiring
drivers who are illegally in the country and without the proper
licenses and documents. The tip line gives truckers and people working
in the trucking industry a way to speak up when they see carriers that
are breaking the law and putting lives at risk on the road.
Any reports that are submitted to the Truck Safety Tip Line will be
reviewed and shared with the U.S. Department of Transportation and its
Office of Inspector General to help protect roadway safety and ensure a
fair and lawful trucking industry. But the job of keeping our roads
safe depends on more than just government. We need everyone--but
especially truckers--to help us out.
Look, Indiana sits at the crossroads of America. It is a proud slogan
for our State. And as I said before, Indiana is the fifth busiest State
in the country for commercial freight traffic. Each year, 724 million
tons of freight travel through Indiana. The truckers who operate in
Indiana and throughout the country keep our economy going and going
strong. They help us get the food we eat and the clothes that we wear.
Over 90 percent of truckers in America voted in the 2024 election.
They are patriotic and good people who love this country and care about
what is going on in America. Law-abiding truckers care about law and
order, and they are outraged by what is happening on our roads. They
are tired of unsafe drivers and companies who hire illegal immigrants
because they can pay them less and take good jobs away from hard-
working Americans. Hard-working American truckers are tired of being
turned away from jobs because carriers hire cheap foreign labor
instead, and it shouldn't be this way.
So if you are a trucker and you have concerns about illegal trucking
companies and practices, we want to hear from you. In fact, we need to
hear from you. That is why I am encouraging truckers who are on the
road or those who are in the business to visit our website,
banks.senate.gov, where you can find the Truck Safety Tip Line in the
top corner.
We can't wait any longer. We have to do everything that we can to
deport illegal immigrants from this country and get them off of our
roads. We cannot allow illegal immigrants to terrorize our roads and
kill more innocent lives like we have seen happen over and over again.
I can't tell you how many people I have heard from who have texted me
recently and said that they are afraid to take their families on the
road in their vehicle and drive on the highways because this keeps
happening over and over again. It is a national crisis.
While Democrats continue to moan on and on about ICE, shutting down
the Department of Homeland Security because of it, I will work to keep
the people of Indiana safe from illegal immigrants, especially illegal
immigrants who are behind the wheel of semitrucks.
The time to act is now. President Trump called on us to do something
about this national crisis now. I hope that truckers will use the tip
line to help keep our roads safe, and I hope that we will get to vote
on the Delilah Law soon. It is long past time to do something about it.
______