Ohio Senators Demand Action on Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

Ohio’s Republican senators, Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, are pushing for stricter measures to address policies that let undocumented immigrants obtain driver’s licenses. They argue this practice has led to tragic incidents, including deaths on highways across the country.

Recently, Sen. Husted reached out to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to express concerns about how these policies could endanger Americans, as reported by NBC4i.com.

The senators are asking for a halt to “drive-only” licenses available to undocumented immigrants. While Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles mandates proof of legal status to issue any documents, 19 states and Washington D.C. have adopted drive-only programs.

The call for policy changes was prompted by a fatal incident in August involving a man named Washington G. Naula-Ochoa. Allegedly, he failed to stop at a sign in Fulton County, leading to a collision that sent two individuals to the hospital and resulted in the death of 29-year-old Austin Grimes.

In his letter, Husted noted that Naula-Ochoa acquired a “drive-only” license in Connecticut as an undocumented immigrant.

Husted remarked, “These ‘drive-only’ initiatives supporting illegal immigrants are not just poor decisions; they are part of ineffective immigration policy that jeopardizes the safety of Americans. I urge immediate action to ensure that no other family suffers due to these policies.”

In a related social media post, Moreno highlighted that an illegal immigrant who received a driver’s license from Connecticut was responsible for the fatal accident involving an Ohio resident. He pointed out the alarming fact that Connecticut has issued over 60,000 such licenses to undocumented individuals, emphasizing that this puts many American lives in danger. Moreno has called on Connecticut’s Governor to apologize for the role his state played in this incident and requested transparency on the number of undocumented individuals holding drivers licenses in Connecticut and their potential involvement in U.S. elections.

Additionally, Ohio authorities have been focusing on illegal drivers in the trucking industry and are in the process of revoking over 1,000 commercial driver’s licenses belonging to foreign truck drivers, as reported earlier by Breitbart News. Earlier this year, Duffy commemorated a year of efforts under President Donald Trump aimed at enhancing safety on U.S. roads, highlighting the removal of 20,000 unsafe drivers and the revocation of 28,000 illegal commercial licenses.

He has also made English proficiency a permanent requirement for migrant truck drivers.