Husted calls for national ban on driver’s licenses for illegal aliens

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is calling on federal officials to prohibit states from issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants who cannot demonstrate lawful presence in the United States following a fatal crash in northwest Ohio.

Husted sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging their departments to establish nationwide restrictions on so-called “drive-only” driver’s licenses.

Some states issue these licenses to people who cannot demonstrate lawful immigration status or provide a Social Security number. Husted said 19 states and the District of Columbia allow immigrants without lawful status to obtain such licenses.

His request follows an Aug. 29 crash in Fulton County that killed 29-year-old Austin J. Karr Grimes of Fayette.

Ohio State Highway Patrol officials said Washington G. Naula Ochoa, 34, of Perrysburg, was driving west on County Road N when he failed to yield at a stop sign and struck Karr Grimes’ SUV on State Route 66.

Karr Grimes died at the scene. A 26-year-old woman and 3-year-old child riding in his vehicle were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Naula Ochoa was charged with vehicular homicide and a stop-sign violation and pleaded not guilty Sept. 2. Court records also showed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer for him.

Husted said Naula Ochoa entered the United States without inspection and had obtained a “drive-only” license in Connecticut.

“Despite being illegally present in the United States, Washington G. Naula Ochoa obtained a ‘drive-only’ license from the state of Connecticut,” Husted wrote.

Ohio requires driver’s license applicants to provide documentation establishing citizenship or legal presence in the United States. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles verifies the immigration status of non-U.S. citizen applicants through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system before issuing a driver’s license or identification card.

Husted called on federal officials to use Ohio’s requirements as a model nationwide.

“Federal regulations can build on this work and prohibit states from issuing driver’s licenses of any kind to illegal immigrants, and incentivize states to follow Ohio’s lead in designating noncitizen status on driver’s licenses granted to lawfully present noncitizens,” Husted wrote.

“The ‘drive-only’ initiatives for illegal immigrants championed by state governments across the country are not merely lapses in judgment; they are extensions of failed immigration policies that place Americans at risk,” Husted wrote.

“I urge you to act swiftly to ensure that no other family is devastated by the consequences of these failed policies.”