House Republicans on the Republican Study Committee (RSC) want Congress to pass legislation, spotlighted by President Donald Trump, that would revoke trucking licenses that are currently issued to illegal immigrants, limit trucking licenses to primarily American citizens, and offer commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills tests exclusively in English.

The RSC members renewed the case for Dalilah’s Law, a piece of legislation named after Dalilah Coleman, at a roundtable featuring Dalilah and her parents. When Coleman was 5-years-old, an illegal immigrant driving an 18-wheeler caused a multi-car wreck that left Coleman with permanent, life-altering injuries.

Coleman was a featured guest during Trump’s latest State of the Union, and lawmakers like Rep. Vince Fong (R., Calif.) laid out the “sense of urgency” they want in getting the legislation to Trump’s desk.

“Dalilah is not the only person affected,” Fong explained during the roundtable. “This is not a unique session, this is happening across the country.” Dalilah and her parents are Fong’s constituents.

For Coleman and her family, the CDL issue is personal in multiple ways. Her father, Marcus Coleman, himself has a CDL. “It took me three weeks to get my CDL,” he explained, noting that it it was not the easiest three weeks of his life. 

The elder Coleman said that it “makes absolutely no sense at all” for Twitter or Instagram to have ads advertising that people, including non-citizens, can get CDLs in under a week. During a hearing on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Coleman observed that several Democrats in opposition to the law named after his daughter said that accidents involving illegal immigrants with CDLs comprise one percent of accidents. 

“We’re that one percent,” he said. “One percent is huge…I don’t understand how the Democrats sit there and think that one percent is not a big number.” 

Several of the Republicans on the committee, like Reps. Mike Collins (R., Ga.) and Dave Taylor (R., Ohio) have firsthand experience with the trucking business. “I can’t think of anybody in the trucking industry who wouldn’t be for this,” Collins said. But, he added, “we need the American people’s help.”

Collins is himself no stranger to helping shepherd landmark legislation relating to illegal immigration through Congress and to Trump’s desk; he authored the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, which was one of the first bills Trump signed in his second term. Collins called Dalilah’s Law “as important” as the Laken Riley Act. 

The Georgia lawmaker also said that it is nonsensical to make it more difficult for veterans “who have been dodging bombs” to get CDLs than it is for illegal immigrants. Rep. Erin Houchin (R., Ind.) agreed with Collins, saying that Democrats “deft logic” in putting illegal immigrants over Americans, which she said is also embodied by the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“If you’re in this country illegally, you should not be able to obtain a commercial driver’s license, and if that standard is violated, there should be serious consequences, including permanent disqualification from operating a commercial vehicle,” Houchin added.

While Taylor acknowledged that the “legislative process is slow,” he is hoping that it will become law “with haste.” He explained that the Obama administration “remove the English language proficiency” from much of the CDL process created the problems that the RSC Republicans want to address.

Rep. David Rouzer (R., N.C.) did not sound optimistic about the odds of the bill garnering significant bipartisan support. “If this was 20 years ago, this would pass by unanimous consent in the Senate,” he said. That shows how much the Democratic Party has changed, he added.

Trump’s decision to highlight Dalilah during his State of the Union helped make this issue deeply personal for lawmakers, which Rep. Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.) noted during his remarks. “I looked up there and I saw that sweet girl Democrats wouldn’t stand to applaud that sweet little girl to me, just shows you how lost we are as a country. It’s how much evil is in people’s hearts.”

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R., Calif.) added that it “boggles” his mind that any Democrat would oppose the bill, “because it is just common sense. [If] you can’t read English, you can’t read not only street signs, but placards, safety information, load documents, and if you don’t have authorization, you shouldn’t be issued a commercial driver’s license that enables you to work…If you’re willing to break immigration law for your own gain, you’re probably willing to break other kinds of safety laws, and adherence to those safety laws is very important in doing a good job as a commercial truck driver, and so this is just basic common sense.”

Coleman added his frustration at how Democrats have mostly refused to support the legislation named after his daughter. “Does [my wife] need to be illegal” for Democrats to understand, he asked. 

“This is road safety,” Coleman said. “We’re not targeting anybody. We’re not targeting truckers. I’m a trucker.” The legislation is also not targeting immigrants, he added, noting that his family is an immigrant family as well. “Do they only understand illegal?” he asked of Democrats. “I might get a translator” to speak to Democrats, he said.