Quick answer
What is a non-domiciled CDL?
A non-domiciled CDL is a commercial driver's license a state issues to a driver who is not a permanent U.S. resident. The Illegal Highways, an upcoming documentary by Adam B. Coleman, looks at how people in the country illegally were issued commercial licenses, and the crash victims' families left behind.
For immediate release · Wrong Speak Films · — The Illegal Highways is an upcoming documentary by Adam B. Coleman about families shattered by crashes involving unqualified truck drivers who were in the country illegally — and the industry and licensing failures that put them behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck.
The families
Four lives lost and one child severely injured. The film remembers Scott Miller, Blake Pearson, Tiana Moore and Tanya King, and five-year-old Dalilah Coleman. Her father, Marcus Coleman, describes finding her in the emergency room with a fractured skull, a broken femur and in a coma.
In the trailer, one speaker describes a driver who "had been deported 17 times" before the crash that killed their loved one.
Non-domiciled CDLs: how unqualified drivers got licensed
Officials and safety advocates explain how people in the country illegally were issued commercial driver's licenses — including non-domiciled CDLs, which states issue to drivers who are not permanent U.S. residents — and why these drivers' past records — reckless driving, DUIs, earlier crashes — often don't show up in the databases that should flag them, leaving "a huge blind spot."
Chameleon carriers and who profits
Chameleon carriers are trucking companies that keep changing names and DOT numbers to dodge safety rules. The film looks at how they — along with brokers, fleets and middlemen who look the other way because cheap labor keeps margins high — keep unqualified drivers on the road.
Questions
- What is a chameleon carrier?
- A trucking company that shuts down and reopens under a new name or DOT number to escape its safety record, fines or shutdown orders.
- When does The Illegal Highways come out?
- Early 2027. The official trailer and uncut interview clips are on the film page now.
About Wrong Speak Films
Wrong Speak Films is an independent documentary film production company founded by author, speaker and filmmaker Adam B. Coleman, also the founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Its documentaries include America's Moms, Not Standing Alone and The Illegal Highways.
Press and interview requests: contact Wrong Speak Films.