Congress ties all federal transportation funding to immigration status checks on truck drivers
H.R. 7793 — The Dalilah Law · Filed by Erin Houchin (R-IN) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 4, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits states from issuing commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or holder of specific work visas (E-2, H-2A, or H-2B). It requires all current CDL holders to recertify within 180 days, proving citizenship/visa status and English proficiency, and mandates lifetime disqualification from operating commercial vehicles for anyone caught driving commercially without proper status. States that fail to comply face total loss of all federal transportation funding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a citizenship/visa-status gate on commercial driver's licenses, enforced through federal funding withholding. While titled 'The Dalilah Law' (suggesting a memorial or protective purpose), the text contains no explanation of who Dalilah is or why the name applies—a transparency gap. The functional effect is immigration enforcement via licensing, not a public-safety or transportation measure.
What the text implies
- Lifetime disqualification for operating a commercial vehicle while out-of-status creates permanent economic exclusion, even for individuals who later gain legal status or whose visa expires.
- The 180-day recertification deadline is extremely compressed for states to verify citizenship/visa status for potentially millions of CDL holders, creating administrative chaos and likely mass license revocations.
- Total federal funding withholding (not partial penalties) gives states no graduated compliance incentive and may harm rural/underserved areas dependent on federal transportation dollars, even if state officials comply in good faith.
- English-proficiency requirement for CDL renewal may disproportionately affect older immigrants and those from non-English-speaking countries, even if they are lawful permanent residents or citizens.
- The bill does not define 'proficient in English' or reference a standardized test, leaving enforcement to state discretion and creating inconsistent application across jurisdictions.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill restricts access to commercial driving privileges for non-citizens and certain visa holders, eliminating a livelihood pathway for millions of workers and their families. While framed as a security/compliance measure, it imposes severe economic harm (lifetime disqualification, job loss) on a vulnerable population without evidence of a public-safety crisis, and weaponizes federal funding to coerce state compliance, shifting administrative burden and enforcement cost to states.
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Transportation (Secretary), States (licensing authorities), Commercial motor vehicle operators, E-2 visa holders, H-2A visa holders, H-2B visa holders, 49 USC §31301, §31310, §31311, Immigration and Nationality Act §101(a)(15), 8 CFR §217.5, 49 CFR §391.11(b)(2), Part 383
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Mar 4, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 4, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $489,143 in lobbying spend. A filing names 69 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Erin Houchin, the sponsor, reported $1,060,750 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters — $489,143 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,492 characters) on Sep 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,985 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-25.
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