Marcus Coleman, whose daughter was permanently disabled in a car crash allegedly caused by an undocumented immigrant, confronted lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, accusing them of insincere sympathy and a lack of understanding regarding sanctuary city policies.
During a hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, Coleman directly addressed Democratic members, stating, "I reject your guys' sympathy, to be honest with you. There's no way you guys are sorry." He further described his interactions with Democratic representatives as speaking a language of "ignorance," making it difficult to convey his perspective. "I can explain it all day, I just can't understand it for them," Coleman said in a subsequent interview.
Coleman's daughter, 7-year-old Dalilah, was critically injured in 2024 when a commercial truck, allegedly driven by an undocumented immigrant from India named Partap Singh, collided with her vehicle. The Department of Homeland Security reported that Singh, who had obtained a commercial driver's license in California, was reportedly driving at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic and a construction zone.
The father detailed the significant toll the incident has taken on his family, including his own exhaustion from caring for Dalilah and attempting to maintain work. "I work on maybe about four hours of sleep every night, primarily taking care of my daughter during the daytime, trying to work at nighttime and squeeze everything in, so I'm exhausted," he told Fox News.
Coleman voiced frustration that while lawmakers may offer sympathy in public hearings, they had not reached out to him privately. "Not one of you guys have ever called me. Not one of you guys ever reached out to me," he stated during the hearing. "You guys do it right here while you guys are grandstanding on top of your soapbox."
His advocacy stems from his personal experience, which he believes highlights the dangers of current immigration policies. "There's no remedy with open borders at all," Coleman argued. "Leaving your door unlocked at nighttime, you're not gonna sleep safe. Leaving the borders open at nighttime, we're not going to be safe. My daughter is the proof. There's hundreds, if not thousands, of victims right now behind illegal aliens."
At a previous hearing on sanctuary cities, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., had questioned the need to revisit the issue, noting it was the fourth time the committee had held such a hearing. Coleman, however, insisted his efforts would continue, driven by the conviction that his daughter's condition underscores critical issues in the national immigration debate.