S. 4224 — Dalilah’s Law Act

This section establishes a new criminal offense in 18 U.S.C. §40B prohibiting a covered alien (i.e., an alien inadmissible for presence without admission under INA §212(a)(6)(A)(i), deportable for failure to maintain status under INA §237(a)(1)(C)(i), subject to mandatory detention under INA §236(c)(1), or paroled under INA §212(d)(5)) from presenting or using a commercial driver's license (CDL) in interstate or foreign commerce, with criminal penalties of a fine, imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both, plus mandatory minimums of 1 year for accidents while operating a commercial vehicle, 2 years if resulting in bodily injury, and death or life imprisonment if resulting in death. It further (1) requires state or local officers, employees, or contractors to verify an applicant's immigration status via E-Verify or an analogous state program before issuing a CDL, with penalties of a fine, imprisonment for up to 1 year, or both for violations; (2) imposes a $50,000 civil penalty per violation on any business or entity knowingly providing substantial assistance or conspiring with a covered alien to violate the prohibition; (3) authorizes treble damages plus attorney's fees in civil actions by persons injured (or their estates, survivors, or heirs) in accidents caused by such CDL use, with liability extending to aiders or abettors; and (4) directs the Attorney General to report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees within 180 days of enactment on arrests, CDLs issued to covered aliens, related accidents, prosecutions, and a plan to prevent violations.

This section establishes a new aggravating factor in federal death penalty cases for a covered alien (as defined in section 40B) who presents or uses a commercial driver’s license (as defined in 49 U.S.C. 31301) in interstate or foreign commerce and causes death in a motor vehicle crash while operating a commercial vehicle (as defined in 49 U.S.C. 31301).

This section amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as follows: (1) expands the definition of aggravated felony in INA §101(a)(43) by adding subparagraph (V) for an offense relating to the use of a commercial driver’s license in interstate commerce by a covered alien described in 18 U.S.C. §40B; and (2) revises INA §212(a)(2)(F) to make inadmissible any alien who a consular officer or the Attorney General knows, or has reason to believe, has engaged, is engaging, or seeks to enter the United States to engage in an offense described in 18 U.S.C. §40B (relating to the use of commercial driver's licenses by illegal aliens).

This section requires an applicant for a commercial driver's license (CDL) to present written documentation, obtained through the E-Verify program or a state process, verifying the applicant's employment eligibility. It further requires states, at the Secretary of Transportation's request, to provide such documentation to the Secretary; authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions in federal district court to enjoin state violations of the new eligibility requirement or documentation provision; and grants a state attorney general (or authorized officer) standing to sue the Secretary in federal district court for injunctive relief if a state's violation of the eligibility requirement causes harm to the state or its citizens (i.e., bodily injury or monetary loss exceeding $100). (CDLs, issued by states under federal standards, authorize operation of commercial motor vehicles such as large trucks and buses; thus, the changes aim to restrict CDL issuance to employment-authorized individuals.)