[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 67 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1822-S1824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Lummis, and Mr.
Scott of South Carolina):
S. 4317. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to withhold
Federal highway funding from States that issue driver's licenses,
commercial driver's licenses, or personal identification cards to
individuals without verifying the legal status of those individuals,
and for other purposes; to the
[[Page S1823]]
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor to express the
beliefs of so many Americans, and that is that illegal immigrants
should never be given a driver's license in the United States of
America. It is just common sense. These are people who are here
illegally.
So, today, I am introducing legislation to stop States from issuing
driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, and that includes regular
licenses as well as commercial driver's licenses.
Every U.S. Senator needs to say where they stand on this critical
issue. It is time to make it clear that giving State-issued licenses to
illegal immigrants is not in the best interest of our Nation's safety
or our Nation's security. In February, President Trump called on
Congress to ban States from issuing driver's licenses to illegal
immigrants. My legislation does just that, and then it goes further.
The bill I am introducing today--the No Licenses for Illegal Drivers
or Truckers Act--requires States to verify that every person who
applies for a driver's license--every single one--including, certainly,
a commercial driver's license, is in this country legally. It is not
just for driver's licenses. It also should be for a government ID.
States that refuse are going to be forced to forfeit 10 percent of
the Federal transportation funding that they receive from the Federal
Government, and that is a lot of money for many States, especially for
some of these big, blue States. The funds that we withhold will go to
the States that actually follow the law.
So let's put it in plain terms what this means. California: If in
California Governor Gavin Newsom continues to issue driver's licenses
to illegal immigrants--and they are doing it right now--California
would surrender 10 percent of the money that they get from the Federal
Government for highways. They are getting $5.8 billion, so they would
surrender $580 million, which would go to States like mine and the
Presiding Officer's that comply with the law.
Look, this is a serious and a significant amount of money, and it is
a significant penalty. I believe it is worth it in order to keep the
American people safe.
Astonishingly, there are 19 States in this Nation--and the District
of Columbia--that currently provide driver's licenses to illegal
immigrants. No proof of citizenship is needed. In some of those States,
such as Oregon, it is even worse than that because they have laws in
place called motor voter laws. So what is a motor voter law? Well, it
means that, when an illegal immigrant is given a driver's license, the
State then automatically registers them to vote.
I mean, think about that.
As an illegal immigrant, you get a driver's license, and then they
register you to vote. Then the Democrats say, oh, they don't try to get
illegal immigrants to vote. They make it automatic in the State of
Oregon. We know that in Oregon hundreds of illegal immigrants have been
registered to vote because of this policy, which is irresponsible, and
they know it. They don't seem to care.
This, to me, raises serious questions about election integrity.
Allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses make our roads
less safe, and it also makes our elections less secure.
The No Licenses for Illegal Drivers or Truckers Act is part of the
larger Republican drive to keep our Nation safe. The last
administration threw open our borders to illegal immigrants. More than
10 million illegal immigrants flooded into our Nation. Under President
Trump and Republicans, the border is now secure, and law enforcement
has been restored.
In the last 11 months, absolutely zero--zero--illegal immigrants have
been released into this country. President Trump and Republicans
stopped this dangerous policy of catch-and-release--catch illegal
immigrants and release them into the country. Never again.
Republicans are building on this success, and we are going to fully
fund and fully support the men and women of Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Now, some Democrats wrongly believe that giving official government
IDs to illegal immigrants makes America safer. They are wrong, and they
know they are wrong.
They ignore every lesson that we have learned from previous deadly
crashes. Remember Dalilah Coleman? She was a 5-year-old girl who nearly
died in a car accident caused by an illegal immigrant truckdriver.
President Trump told her story right here in Congress during his State
of the Union. Dalilah's story is sadly becoming all too common.
Just days after President Trump celebrated her remarkable, miraculous
recovery during the State of the Union Address, there was another
deadly crash in Indiana this time. An illegal immigrant truckdriver
caused it. Four American citizens were killed.
Well, what about the driver? The driver entered this country because
of the policies of Joe Biden and the Democrats. He received a
commercial driver's license because of the radical policies of the
Democrat Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro.
This should never have happened, and my bill is written to make sure
tragedies like this one will never happen again. My bill gives States a
simple choice: protect American citizens or lose Federal funding.
We know that there are illegal immigrants holding commercial driver's
licenses all across the United States, and there is no guarantee that
all of them--or any of them--meet the same training and safety
standards that are required of American truckdrivers. This should
concern all of us.
Many States run by Democrats would rather protect illegal immigrant
criminals than protect law-abiding citizens. In my home State of
Wyoming, we do things differently than what comes out of Washington and
so many of these Democrat-run States. We do not issue driver's licenses
to illegal immigrants. Furthermore, if an illegal immigrant is arrested
driving in Wyoming with a license from another State, it is a crime
punishable by up to 6 months in jail.
So let me tell you about Wyoming. Since last October, officers in
Laramie County have arrested 40--40--illegal immigrants driving
commercial vehicles. Officers in Sweetwater County have arrested 14
more. Officers in Crook County arrested more still.
None of these were issued in Wyoming, but these are truckdrivers
going across the country, carrying cargo. They have been stopped
because they provide danger.
All of these illegal immigrants were turned over to ICE and removed.
That is how the system ought to work. Every State in America should
follow Wyoming's lead.
The Senate has a duty to protect American citizens. I have a
responsibility to protect the people of Wyoming. I believe the Senate
should pass the No Licenses for Illegal Drivers and Truckers Act.
I would like to thank my colleagues Senator Cynthia Lummis of
Wyoming, Senator John Cornyn of Texas for joining me and cosponsoring
the legislation.
We need to stop States from issuing driver's licenses to illegal
immigrants. We need to keep America safe. It is time for this Senate to
stand up for law-abiding American citizens, not illegal immigrants.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 4317
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Licenses for Illegal
Drivers or Truckers Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY OF STATE-ISSUED DRIVER'S
LICENSES, COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES, AND
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after section 154 the following:
``Sec. 155. Preserving the integrity of State-issued driver's
licenses, commercial driver's licenses, and personal
identification cards
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Commercial driver's license.--The term `commercial
driver's license' has the meaning given the term in section
31301 of title 49.
``(2) Driver's license.--The term `driver's license' means
a motor vehicle operator's license (as defined in section
30301 of title 49).
[[Page S1824]]
``(3) Evidence of lawful presence.--The term `evidence of
lawful presence' means valid, unexpired documentary evidence
issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security that a person
is--
``(A) a citizen or national of the United States; or
``(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence
(as those terms are defined in section 101(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)).
``(4) Personal identification card.--The term `personal
identification card' means an identification document (as
defined in section 1028(d) of title 18) issued by a State.
``(b) Withholding of Funds for Noncompliance.--
``(1) In general.--On October 1, 2026, and each October 1
thereafter, the Secretary shall withhold from a State 10
percent of the amounts required to be apportioned to the
State under paragraphs (1) through (8) of section 104(b) for
a fiscal year if that State does not have in effect and is
enforcing a law that meets the requirements described in
subsection (e).
``(2) Duration.--If, before the last day of the fiscal year
for which funds are withheld under this section, the
Secretary determines that the State is in compliance with
this section, the Secretary shall, on the first day on which
the Secretary makes that determination, apportion to the
State the funds withheld from that State for that fiscal year
under this section.
``(c) Redistribution of Withheld Funds.--On the first
October 1 after a fiscal year for which amounts were withheld
from a State under this section, the Secretary shall
redistribute those amounts to States that are in compliance
with this section so that each State in compliance with this
section receives an amount equal to the proportion that--
``(1) the amount apportioned to the State under section
104(b); bears to
``(2) the total amount apportioned to all States in
compliance with this section under section 104(b).
``(d) Effect of Withholding.--Except as provided in
subsection (b), no funds withheld under this section from
apportionment to a State shall be available to a State.
``(e) Law to Require and Verify Lawful Presence.--
``(1) In general.--A State shall be in compliance with this
section if the State has in effect and is enforcing a law to
require and subsequently verify evidence of lawful presence
from each applicant for a driver's license, commercial
driver's license, or personal identification card issued by
the State.
``(2) Requirement.--A law referred to in paragraph (1)
shall employ a means approved by the Secretary of Homeland
Security--
``(A) to confirm the identity of an applicant for a
driver's license, commercial driver's license, or personal
identification card through electronic validation of
biographic and biometric information, including the name,
photograph, and fingerprints of the applicant;
``(B) to confirm the validity of the lawful presence of an
applicant described in subparagraph (A), including whether
the applicant has lawfully maintained that lawful presence,
through the results of background and security checks,
including fingerprint checks by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; and
``(C) to verify the authenticity of the evidence of lawful
presence provided by an applicant described in subparagraph
(A), which shall include an identity document containing a
photograph, by confirming the social security number or
individual taxpayer identification number of the applicant
with, as applicable--
``(i) the Internal Revenue Service;
``(ii) the Social Security Administration; or
``(iii) the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements
program of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
``(f) REAL ID Act of 2005.--Nothing in this section affects
any State requirement under title II of the REAL ID Act of
2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of
title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
the item relating to section 154 the following:
``155. Preserving the integrity of State-issued driver's licenses,
commercial driver's licenses, and personal identification
cards.''.
____________________