The Democrats have captured both houses of Congress and are gleefully announcing, "woke is back."
asserted
woke → capture → Congress
But there’s one inconvenient detail: President Donald Trump still controls the executive branch.
asserted
Trump → ’ → branch
Why does that matter?
asserted
that → matter → ?
Because Ryan O’Shea mattered.
asserted
O’Shea → matter → ?
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 truck traveling the wrong way on Connecticut’s Interstate 91 slammed head-on into his car.
asserted
truck → study → car
Ryan was killed instantly.
asserted
Ryan → kill → ?
Police say the other driver was Guillermo Carmona-Lopez, who is a Mexican national who DHS says had already been removed from the United States twice.
asserted
DHS → say → States
The story circulated widely on social media, but received limited mainstream coverage.
asserted
story → circulate → coverage
One needn’t wonder why.
asserted
One → wonder → ?
Ryan was not a member of any of our media’s preferred victim classes, he wanted to go into law enforcement, and he was allegedly killed by someone who the feds say shouldn’t have been here.
uncertain
feds → prefer → someone
But his death raises a larger question: How is it possible that so many foreign drivers are permitted — or even assisted — in getting licensed to drive on our roads?
asserted
drivers → raise → roads
In July, Uzbek national Bekhzod Asrarov, who had entered the U.S. legally, allegedly killed 21-year-old college soccer player Tobias "Toby" Forsythe when his tractor-trailer slammed into the young man’s car.
uncertain
trailer → enter → car
Asrarov, who held an Ohio CDL, reportedly couldn’t communicate with police without Google Translate, failed an English-proficiency test and allegedly attempted to conceal evidence, including his electronic driving logs.
uncertain
who → hold → logs
Then, on September 2, Indian national Manjit Singh, whom DHS identified as illegal, was involved in another fatal Ohio crash that killed 50-year-old Brenda Watson.
asserted
that → identify → Watson
Singh held a California CDL and has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
asserted
Singh → hold → homicide
We could go on.
uncertain
We → go → ?
Ohio has at least moved to tighten the loopholes that allowed this.
asserted
that → move → this
But that’s more than blue states are willing to do.
asserted
states → ’ → ?
So in September 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced emergency restrictions on CDLs issued to foreign drivers after a nationwide audit uncovered widespread fraud.
asserted
audit → announce → fraud
In New York alone, Duffy’s audit found that over half of commercial trucking licenses went to illegal drivers — and those drivers hit the roads across the country.
asserted
drivers → find → country
In one case, investigators found that a Chinese national accused of causing a fatal highway pileup in Tennessee was illegally issued a New York State driver’s license.
asserted
national → find → license
In California, the audit found that 25% of CDLs were unlawfully issued — with a stated policy that California will not enforce federal English proficiency rules.
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California → find → rules
So this year, Duffy began the process of cracking down on the practice nationwide.
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Duffy → begin → practice
He withheld $73 million from New York State, which refuses to comply (and is suing in response).
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which → withhold → response
But more significantly, the feds announced "Joint Task Force Crossroads of America," a nationwide initiative targeting fraud and criminal activity regarding CDLs.
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feds → announce → CDLs
The task force started with more than 1,000 leads and inspected more than 200 driving schools across 23 states.
asserted
force → start → states
Multiple criminal investigations have already been opened.
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investigations → open → ?
It’s a start.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
But let’s recall: Guillermo Carmona-Lopez, who allegedly killed Ryan O’Shea, did not have a CDL.
uncertain
who → let → CDL
So limiting the task force to just CDL enforcement is a mistake.
asserted
limiting → limit → enforcement
Because somewhere in the DMV systems of our states there are officials issuing licenses to applicants who not only likely couldn’t pass the driver’s tests we’ve all taken — they cannot even read the exam.
asserted
they → be → exam
And someone is recruiting these drivers, getting them here, corrupting the DMVs and facilitating their placement onto our roads.
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someone → recruit → roads
Our newly woke Congress can bemoan investigating it… but Congress cannot stop it.
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Congress → bemoan → it
And targeting the scheme also has the advantage of opening another front on immigration enforcement that doesn’t involve highly visible ICE sweeps.
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that → target → sweeps
The Trump administration just got some good news on this front.
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administration → get → front
In a major November 6 federal court ruling, 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.
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Kaplan → order → shelter
The administration can now build on that reasoning by pursuing targeted, court-enforced subpoenas for New York DMV records to identify criminal aliens who have obtained driver’s licenses — and then deporting them.
asserted
who → build → them
The administration should go all-in on this over the next two years.
asserted
administration → go → years
Because there’s also this: At least 17 states, plus Washington, D.C., both permit illegals to obtain driver’s licenses or driving-privilege cards, while also operating automatic voter-registration systems for license holders
asserted
states → ’ → holders
The administration has received little credit for recognizing the illegal driving problem (arguably, another failure in messaging on good policy that has plagued Trump 2.0).
asserted
that → receive → Trump
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
