Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress and are celebrating what they call the return of “woke” politics. But one important fact remains: President Donald Trump still runs the executive branch.
Why does that matter? Because of Ryan O’Shea.
On October 16, 21-year-old Ryan O’Shea, a University of New Haven hockey captain studying criminal justice, was driving home from a game when a pickup heading the wrong way on Connecticut’s Interstate 91 struck his car head-on. He died at the scene.
Police identified the other driver as Guillermo Carmona-Lopez, a Mexican national whom the Department of Homeland Security says had previously been removed from the United States twice. Somehow, he had returned.
The story spread widely on social media but drew limited attention from major news outlets. Perhaps that isn’t surprising: Ryan wasn’t seen as belonging to the groups that often receive the most media attention, he hoped to work in law enforcement, and federal officials say the driver accused of killing him should not have been in the country.
Three strikes.
But Ryan’s death points to a broader question: How are so many foreign drivers getting licenses to drive on American roads, and are they being helped along the way?
There are many similar cases. In July, Uzbek national Bekhzod Asrarov, who entered the U.S. legally, allegedly killed 21-year-old college soccer player Tobias “Toby” Forsythe when his tractor-trailer crashed into the younger man’s car. Asrarov had an Ohio commercial driver’s license, or CDL. Reports say he needed Google Translate to communicate with police, failed an English-proficiency test and allegedly tried to hide evidence, including his electronic driving logs.
Then, on September 2, Indian national Manjit Singh was involved in another fatal crash in Ohio, killing 50-year-old Brenda Watson. DHS has identified Singh as being in the country illegally. He held a California CDL and has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
There are more cases. Ohio has taken steps to close some of the loopholes that allowed this, though those changes came too late for two Americans.
Blue states, however, have been less willing to act. In September 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced emergency restrictions on CDLs issued to foreign drivers after a nationwide audit found widespread fraud.
In New York, Duffy’s audit found that more than half of commercial trucking licenses had gone to drivers who were in the country illegally. Those drivers then traveled on roads throughout the country. In one case, investigators found that a Chinese national accused of causing a fatal highway pileup in Tennessee had been issued a New York driver’s license unlawfully.
In California, the audit found that one-quarter of CDLs had been issued unlawfully. The state, according to the audit, had a policy of not enforcing federal English-proficiency requirements.
Duffy began a nationwide effort to address the practice this year. He withheld $73 million from New York, which is refusing to comply and has sued in response.
The federal government also launched the “Joint Task Force Crossroads of America,” a nationwide effort focused on fraud and criminal activity involving CDLs.
The scale of the problem is still emerging. The task force began with more than 1,000 leads and inspected over 200 driving schools in 23 states. Several criminal investigations are underway.
It’s a start. But Carmona-Lopez, the driver accused of killing Ryan O’Shea, did not have a CDL.
That’s why focusing the task force only on commercial licenses would be a mistake. State DMV systems may have officials issuing licenses to people who could struggle to pass the driving tests many Americans take—or even read the test or road signs.
Someone, meanwhile, may be recruiting these drivers, bringing them into the country, corrupting DMV processes and helping them get onto the roads.
Investigating this kind of activity falls within the federal executive’s authority. A Congress newly focused on “woke” politics may object, but it cannot prevent the administration from acting. Targeting these networks could also open another avenue for immigration enforcement, one that does not depend on highly visible ICE sweeps.
The Trump administration recently received a favorable court ruling on this front. On November 6, a federal judge, Lewis Kaplan, ordered New York City to comply with an ICE subpoena seeking information about migrants with serious criminal histories at a Bronx shelter.
That could be significant.
The administration could build on the reasoning in that decision by seeking targeted, court-enforced subpoenas for New York DMV records. Those records could help identify people with criminal convictions who are in the country illegally and have obtained driver’s licenses, after which the administration could pursue deportation.
The administration should make this a priority over the next two years. At least 17 states, along with Washington, D.C., allow people in the country illegally to obtain driver’s licenses or driving-privilege cards. Those jurisdictions also have automatic voter-registration systems for license holders.
The administration has received little recognition for drawing attention to illegal driving, perhaps another example of its difficulty communicating the merits of its policies. The Crossroads of America task force is a useful beginning, but it could do more. If enforced effectively, the effort could give red states a chance to show the value of practical, common-sense policies.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has celebrated that “75% of Americans will be governed by DEM Govs.” The electorate has spoken. Still, the remaining states can show how they differ by working with federal officials to keep people who are in the country illegally off the roads, investigate criminal networks involved in trafficking and discourage others from using those networks to enter the country.
The task force could use the recent federal ruling to seek subpoenas, identify people in the country illegally through DMV records and bring sanctuary jurisdictions back into compliance with the Constitution.
Perhaps then some on the left, who are eager to revive more open border policies, will recognize that young people like Ryan O’Shea are not simply collateral damage in the pursuit of their political goals.
