SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WOWO) — U.S. Sen. Jim Banks is defending the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts while pushing legislation aimed at commercial truck drivers and highlighting what he described as bipartisan cooperation on federal assistance following severe flooding in Indiana. Bank s discussed immigration enforcement, his proposed “Delilah law” and federal disaster assistance during a one-on-one interview with WNDU’s Joshua Short. The Indiana Republican said people who are in the United States legally should not be concerned about immigration enforcement operations, including those taking place in Indianapolis. “Well, if you’re here lawfully, you have nothing to worry about,” Banks said. Banks also defended the Trump administration’s deportation policy, saying President Donald Trump campaigned on mass deportations and won the 2024 presidential election. “Mass deportations is what President Trump ran on in the last presidential race. He won. He won the popular vote,” Banks said. “It was really, I think, a mandate for President Trump and for Republicans to push a… to deport as many illegals as we can, especially those who have a criminal background.” Banks credited the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security with what he described as improvements involving employment, crime and the fentanyl crisis. When asked about crime and drug problems involving U.S. citizens as well, Banks pointed to conditions at the southern border during the Biden administration. “There’s no question about it that what happened for four years under Biden, a record number of illegals, some estimates up to 20 million illegals that entered our country over the southern border,” Banks said. “The fentanyl epidemic is real. And those statistics have all gone down. I mean, violent crime in America has gone down on President Trump’s watch compared to the four years that Joe Biden was in office,” he said. Banks attributed those changes in part to changes in federal border policy under Trump. “First of all, you secured the border. President Trump secured the border. He restarted construction of the border wall. There’s no more catch-and-release policies,” Banks said. “Those policies all changed overnight when President Trump was elected. So the statistics speak for themselves. There’s still so much more work to do.” Banks then turned to a piece of legislation he has introduced known as the Delilah law. The legislation is named after Delilah, an eight-year-old girl who was a guest of Trump at the most recent State of the Union address. Banks said Delilah suffered lifelong injuries after being struck by a semi-truck driver who was in the country illegally. “When she was five years old, she was hit by an illegal semi-truck driver. She has lifelong injuries that she’s always going to suffer of,” Banks said. Banks said Delilah’s father recently contacted him while the girl was undergoing another surgery related to her injuries. He argued that similar crashes have occurred in Indiana and elsewhere. The legislation would address commercial driver’s licenses, or CDLs. Banks said the bill would require applicants to take the CDL test in English. “So the big issue that the Delilah law that I introduced, what it addresses, is you can’t get a CDL unless you take the test in English,” Banks said. Banks argued that drivers who cannot speak or read English may have difficulty understanding traffic signs and driving conventions. WNDU’s Short asked Banks how the proposed law would address crashes involving American-born or otherwise legally authorized U.S. drivers. Banks responded by emphasizing his opposition to undocumented immigrants operating commercial trucks. “I haven’t spoken to any Hoosier who’s a Republican or a Democrat or something in between who doesn’t believe that any illegals should be behind the wheel of a semi-truck,” Banks said. He then broadened his criticism beyond commercial vehicles. “Well, this is one big way to do it. Get illegals out of semi-trucks, out from behind the wheel of any car. I mean, they shouldn’t be driving on our roads, especially if they can’t speak or read English,” Banks said. Banks cited what he described as a series of deadly crashes in Indiana involving undocumented drivers and said those incidents should not have happened. His comments come as immigration enforcement and the role of state and local law enforcement agencies in assisting federal authorities remain contentious issues in Indiana and across the country. Banks also discussed the severe flooding that struck parts of Indiana in August and highlighted his work with Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, a Democrat, in seeking federal assistance. Banks said President Trump approved two emergency declarations that opened the door to federal assistance following the storms. The senator said he visited Gary last week and joined Melton in contacting Trump about the damage. “President Trump quickly signed two separate emergency declarations to unlock FEMA aid and federal support for communities,” Banks said. “I was in Gary last week. I was with the Mayor of Gary. We called President Trump together. He’s a Democrat. I’m a Republican. We got President Trump on the phone and told him.” Banks described the conversation as an example of cooperation across party lines. “It was a great conversation,” Banks said. “And the Mayor, Gary, and I called the President. We talked about what happened specifically in Gary. The Mayor got to tell the President. The Democrat Mayor, Gary, got to tell the Republican President of the United States what was happening in Gary.” Banks said his focus now is making sure federal assistance reaches people and communities affected by the flooding. “He was eager to sign that emergency declaration. And now it’s my job to make sure that FEMA does what it’s supposed to do and that all of that aid goes directly to those homeowners and families who were most affected by the flooding,” Banks said. Federal disaster assistance has already been made available to Indiana communities following the August storms, including individual assistance for residents in counties covered by the state’s major disaster declaration. Banks’ comments come as he continues to make immigration enforcement a central focus of his federal agenda while also promoting legislation aimed at commercial driver’s license requirements. The Delilah law would still need to move through Congress before becoming law, while the senator’s broader positions on immigration enforcement remain part of the ongoing national debate over the Trump administration’s deportation policies. Banks’ remarks on flood recovery, meanwhile, emphasized cooperation between Republican and Democratic officials as affected Indiana communities continue working through the damage caused by August’s severe weather. The post Sen. Jim Banks Defends Trump Deportation Efforts, Calls for Stricter CDL Rules appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less