South Dakota Governor signs trucker English proficiency and CDL bills to ‘deliver Dalilah’s Law’

This week, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed two bills imposing stricter language and citizenship requirements on commercial driver license (CDL) holders.

On March 10, 2026, Rhoden signed the following two bills into law in an effort to strengthen standards for CDL holders in South Dakota:

• SB 164, which requires CDL holders to be proficient in the English language
• SB 180, which modifies requirements regarding non-domiciled CDLs

Rhoden said in a news release announcing the signing of the bills into law that South Dakota has now satisfied President Trump’s call for states to pass “Dalilah’s Law,” which would “increase standards for English proficiency and prohibit states from issuing CDLs to undocumented immigrants.”

Trump pushed for “Dalilah’s Law” during his State of the Union address in February.

“These bills are commonsense steps to improve public safety by guaranteeing that truckers can read our road signs and making sure that only citizens and legal immigrants hold CDLs. South Dakota will continue to prioritize strong licensing standards so all drivers are traveling safely and responsibly,” Rhoden said.

Rhoden also said that the state has partnered with federal immigration authorities for an enforcement detail.

“The [South Dakota] Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently conducted an enforcement operation alongside the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. DPS also reviewed its process for non-domiciled CDLs to ensure illegal immigrants are not operating with or receiving CDLs in South Dakota,” Rhoden said.

Dalilah’s Law was named for Dalilah Coleman, a child who was injured in a June 20, 2024, crash in California involving Partap Singh, who was driving a semi truck. Officials said that Singh was an Indian national present in the U.S. illegally. He was later taken into U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

Much action has already been taken at a federal level over the past year to tighten citizenship requirements for obtaining a non-domiciled CDL and to increase English Language Proficiency enforcement for truck drivers.