A father whose 7-year-old daughter was left permanently disabled after a crash involving an alleged undocumented immigrant driver confronted Democratic lawmakers at a congressional hearing Tuesday, rejecting their expressions of sympathy and accusing them of failing families like his.
Marcus Coleman's daughter, Dalilah, sustained a fractured skull, broken femur, and traumatic brain injury in a 2024 crash in California. The truck driver was identified as Partap Singh, an alleged undocumented immigrant from India who had obtained a commercial driver's license in California. Authorities stated Singh was driving at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic in a construction zone.
"I reject your guys’ sympathy," Coleman told members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement during a hearing on sanctuary policies. He claimed that no Democratic lawmakers had reached out to him personally after his daughter's injuries.
"You guys do it right here where you guys are grandstanding on top of your soapbox," Coleman stated. "This is when you guys care. Right here inside this room is the only time you guys care."
Coleman testified that his daughter "doesn’t deserve" what happened to her, adding, "The people that jumped the fence did though, they knew exactly what they were doing. They still chose to move forward in that direction. And every day something's happening to somebody and it is your guys' fault. I hold each and every one of you responsible for it and I always will."
Coleman also spoke about the significant financial impact the crash has had on his family. He stated that he has stopped working as a truck driver, reducing their income, and is now struggling to provide for his nine children.
Another parent, Patricia Fox, also testified about her daughter, Carissa "Luu" Aspnes, who was permanently disabled in a March 2025 hit-and-run crash in Colorado involving an alleged undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Fox described how her daughter was thrown headfirst into a concrete barrier and that the driver fled the scene. Aspnes now requires a Hoyer lift to move and has her food blended and administered through a feeding tube.
"One collision created an entire family of victims," Fox said, expressing further anguish that the accused driver's immigration status contributed to her daughter's situation. "If an American citizen had hit my daughter, I wouldn't be here asking, ‘Why was somebody who had no lawful right to be in this country here to hit her in the first place?’"
Fox urged lawmakers to prioritize American citizens, stating, "You need to love Americans more than you hate Trump. That's not partisan politics. It's literally your job."
Coleman contrasted his wife's legal immigration process with the actions of those who enter the country illegally. He also criticized sanctuary policies, telling lawmakers that the consequences were evident in the testimony provided.
"This is the end result of Sanctuary City right here," Coleman said, gesturing towards his daughter.