Sponsor
Thomas Bryant Cotton
Senator · R-AR
Senator · R-AR
The bill increases federal leverage to enforce immigration-related checks on driver's licenses—potentially improving standardization, information sharing, and road safety for cooperating states—while risking significant cuts to transportation funding, reduced mobility and safety participation for immigrants, legal disputes, and higher local costs if states do not or cannot comply.
State and local governments that comply with the bill’s verification requirements retain their full federal highway apportionments (avoiding the 5–10% withholding).
States face a clear financial incentive to verify lawful presence for driver's licenses, which encourages greater standardization of licensing practices and cooperation with federal enforcement.
Drivers and communities could see improved road safety if lawful-presence verification reduces the number of unvetted drivers on the roads.
States that fail to meet the immigration-related conditions risk losing 5%–10% of federal highway funds, which could delay road and bridge projects, harm transit work, and raise costs for commuters and local taxpayers.
Immigrants, including mixed-status families and low-income individuals, could lose access to driver's licenses or face new barriers, reducing mobility for work, school, and essential services.
Conditioning licenses on immigration cooperation may discourage immigrants from interacting with DMVs and other state agencies, lowering participation in registration/insurance and other safety programs and potentially harming public safety.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Conditions certain federal highway apportionments on State immigration-information sharing, REAL ID–style lawful-status checks for IDs, and cooperation with ICE detainers; 5–10% withholding for noncompliance.
Introduced February 4, 2026 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress February 4, 2026
Requires the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to withhold a share of federal highway apportionments from States that do not meet specified immigration-related requirements. Starting October 1, 2026, withholding is 5% for the first year a State is found noncompliant and 10% in subsequent years until the State comes into compliance.