Ohio’s two U.S. senators, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, want federal government intervention to block other states from issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization.
Their effort stems from a crash that killed a 29-year-old and injured two others in Fulton County last week. 34-year-old Washington Naula Ochoa was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide after the crash, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Since then, Husted and Moreno have said Ochoa was licensed to drive in Connecticut, which is among 19 states that offer drive-only driver’s licenses for some immigrants, regardless of their legal status, according to analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most states have enacted these laws in the last 15 years, though some date further back.
Ohio is not among them.
In an email Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Public Safety wrote, “ not only do we not issue drive only credentials to undocumented immigrants—we do not issue any ID credentials of any kind to undocumented immigrants.”
Generally, backers of those measures argue that licensing more noncitizens makes roadways safer through added testing and insurance requirements. But Moreno said Thursday he believes the government shouldn’t “reward” illegal immigration.
“ If you’re here, and you broke into our home, and America is our home, make no mistake, we should not reward you with anything, driver’s license or anything,” Moreno told reporters.
Moreno wrote a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut earlier this week, writing its state law is undermining “the safety and security of Americans.”
Then, on Thursday, Husted wrote a letter to both the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, urging their intervention.
With the 2026 midterm elections coming fast, immigration issues remain salient for GOP candidates—and Husted faces a seemingly tight race to hold the seat from Democratic former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Just last week, Husted saw backlash for an ad attacking Brown on immigration, which featured video of another fatal crash that killed a family of three earlier this year. But a relative said nobody asked before airing it.
Modou Ngom, the 50-year-old driver of the semi-truck accused of causing the chain-reaction crash, was indicted on vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges but is not right now facing immigration related charges.
