Father of girl injured by illegal migrant truck driver slams ‘insensitive’ rhetoric during Noem hearing

The father of girl injured by alleged illegal immigrant truck driver urges lawmakers to prioritize American safety during emotional House Judiciary hearing testimony. Illegal Immigrants Father of girl injured by illegal migrant truck driver slams ‘insensitive’ rhetoric during Noem hearing Marcus Coleman's daughter, Dalilah, suffered a traumatic brain injury when illegal immigrant truck driver hit her car at 60 mph By Louis Casiano Fox News Published March 6, 2026 6:00am EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Trump honors young girl critically injured by illegal migrant truck driver Marcus Coleman, Ileana Krause and Dalilah Coleman join 'Fox & Friends' to discuss their appearance at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address following Dalilah's traumatic experience being critically injured by an illegal migrant truck dr NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The father of a California girl who sustained a traumatic brain injury when an illegal immigrant commercial truck driver slammed into a vehicle she was riding in urged congressional lawmakers to prioritize the safety of American citizens amid the back-and-forth rhetoric over the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign. Marcus Coleman was in attendance during this week's House Judiciary Committee hearing in which then-Homeland Security Kristi Noem answered questions about the agency's immigration enforcement actions. "At this point right now, what they're doing is extremely disrespectful. It's insensitive," Coleman told Fox News Digital, referring to elected officials who oppose illegal immigrant enforcement. "Until it happens to them, that's the point of view they're going to have." On Wednesday, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a vocal critic of the Trump administration, apologized to the families in attendance who have lost loved ones to the actions of illegal immigrants, before remarking on migrant crime statistics during his interaction with Noem. Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images) "For the folks that are here and your families, I'm sorry," Cohen said, holding his hand over his heart. "It's terrible what happened to you, to your children or your family members, but they are more likely… citizens are more likely to be attacked by United States citizens who are not undocumented."Noem, who has since been reassigned as the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, shot back, calling Cohen's remark offensive to the Angel Families, which refers to relatives of Americans killed by individuals in the United States unlawfully. "The vast majority of the people sitting behind me have lost their children due to drugs, overdoses from drugs that came over the southern border," she said. "They died from their kids being hit in accidents on the roads where illegal drivers were driving a truck. Marcus Coleman, Delilah's father, has told the story over and over again." On June 20, 2024, a multi-car crash in California was allegedly caused by a commercial 18-wheeler driven by Partap Singh, according to authorities. (DHS)In 2024, Dalilah Coleman was critically injured in Southern California when the driver of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer moving at 60 mph slammed into a vehicle she was traveling in. She sustained a fractured skull, broken femur and a traumatic brain injury. Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, was identified as the driver who obtained a commercial driver's license in California, authorities said. Singh was driving at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic in a construction zone just before the crash. TRUMP UNLOADS ON ‘RADICAL LEFT’ AS HE STANDS BY KRISTI NOEM AMID IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT UNREST Marcus Coleman holds his daughter Dalilah Coleman as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress on Feb. 24. Coleman criticized Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., and other lawmakers who oppose efforts to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. ( Win McNamee/Getty Images)"They go back home, like my daughter's driver," Coleman added. "He went back to India and he's living life free. And my daughter said, you're dealing with this. Had that been a U.S. citizen, he'd have been in jail right now."President Donald Trump honored Dalilah during his State of the Union address, drawing applause in the chamber as she attended with her father. "Dalilah Coleman was only five years old in June 2024 when an eighteen-wheeler tractor-trailer plowed into her stopped car at sixty miles an hour or more," Trump said. "The driver was an illegal alien let in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver’s license by open borders politicians in California."CALIFORNIA FATHER SAYS NEWSOM IGNORED HIM AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER LEFT DAUGHTER UNABLE TO WALK Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, was arrested after the crash that injured Daliliah Coleman. (DHS)Trump and Noem have come under criticism from Democrats who view actions taken to arrest illegal migra