Father of disabled girl confronts Democrats at sanctuary cities hearing
WASHINGTON — A father whose 7-year-old daughter was left permanently disabled after an 18-wheeler crash told lawmakers at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on sanctuary policies that Democratic members had "never reached out to me" following his daughter's injuries, and he rejected their expressions of sympathy.
Marcus Coleman, a California resident, testified Tuesday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, which focused on sanctuary policies in California, Colorado, and Maryland. Coleman's daughter Dalilah suffered a fractured skull, broken femur, and traumatic brain injury in the 2024 crash.
"I reject your guys' sympathy," Coleman told lawmakers, according to Fox News. He said Democratic lawmakers had not contacted him after his daughter's injuries and accused them of caring only during the hearing.
"Not one of you guys have ever sat there and seen me in the hallways and said, 'Hey, sorry about your daughter,'" Coleman said. "You guys do it right here where you guys are grandstanding on top of your soapbox. This is when you guys care."
Coleman said his daughter "doesn't deserve" what happened to her.
"She didn't ask for any of this," Coleman said. "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."
Dalilah was critically injured in Southern California in 2024 when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer traveling at 60 mph slammed into the vehicle she was riding in. Authorities identified the truck driver as Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India who had obtained a commercial driver's license in California. Singh was driving at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic in a construction zone before the crash, authorities said.
Coleman said he has stopped working as a truck driver and is now struggling financially while raising nine children. He pointed to his wife, an immigrant who he said followed the legal process, and said of sanctuary policies: "I think that building needs to get checked for mold or something, because you guys are really out of your guys' mind thinking that sanctuary cities are the way to go." Coleman added, "This is the end result of Sanctuary City right here."
Second parent testifies
Patricia Fox, a resident of Denver, also testified about her daughter, Carissa "Luu" Aspnes, who was permanently disabled after a March 2025 hit-and-run crash in Colorado involving an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Fox said her daughter was thrown headfirst into a concrete barrier at nearly 50 mph. The driver fled the scene.
Fox said she now uses a Hoyer lift to get her adult daughter out of bed and blends her daughter's food, feeding her through a G-tube. Her daughter remains in a wheelchair.
"One collision created an entire family of victims," Fox said, according to Fox News.
Fox said, "If an American citizen hit my daughter, I wouldn't be here asking, 'Why was someone, who had no lawful right to be here in this country, here to hit her in the first place,'" as reported by the Washington Examiner.
Fox also said, "The lives of American citizens should matter to both sides," and "You need to love Americans more than you hate Trump," as reported by Fox News.
Lawmakers and witness clash
The hearing also featured sharp exchanges between Rep. Chip Roy and witness David Bier, who had testified about the economic contributions of immigrants. Bier said that "in just the last three decades, immigrants legal and illegal have reduced [the] federal, state, and local deficit [by] $14.5 trillion" and that "they work and start businesses at higher rates, but rather than embrace this tradition, this administration threatens to end it."
Roy pressed Bier on whether the two illegal immigrants involved in the witnesses' testimonies should have been released "on to the streets."
"So you're fine with the two individuals who were released by the Biden administration, who were able to carry out and engage in this activity that resulted in the death and the destruction and the maiming of the American people," Roy said.
Bier reiterated his support for a "legal way to vet" immigrants. Roy asked if immigrants should be allowed to "walk across the border without regard to our visas or our laws." Bier reluctantly answered "no" and agreed that there should be border security before saying "it depends on the circumstances."
Bier also remarked that immigrant drivers in California average about "25% fewer fatal crashes."