Yes. There is no separate process for immigrants to get driver’s licenses or IDs, or a shortened process. The same documentation and training and testing protocol applies to all individuals who apply. You must prove your legal name, date of birth, social security number, Ohio residence and U.S. citizenship OR legal immigration status to get a license of any kind of Ohio ID. Language aids or interpreters are not allowed to be in the car. Individuals who are testing have to be able to understand highway warnings, traffic signs and basic directions given in the English language.

In Ohio, you do not have to take a drivers education course if you are 18 years or older.

Individuals under Temporary Protected Status have the ability to move about the Country freely. Many immigrants have migrated to the Midwest because of job opportunities, nice communities, and the ability to find shelter.

Our immigrant population was not sent here through an organized government program.

TPS was created by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990. It is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals of specifically designated countries that are confronting an ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary or temporary conditions. It provides a work permit and protection from deportation to foreign nationals from those countries who are designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Passed the Senate 81-17 and the House Unanimously consented.

Though individuals in the United States under temporary protected status do qualify for some Federal assistance, the majority of immigrants are working and therefore are ineligible. They are paying for their own housing, vehicles, food, etc.

As of 2021, 94.6% of TPS holders were employed.

In order to qualify for TPS, an individual must:

• Be a national of the foreign country with a TPS designation;
• Be continuously physically present in the United States since the effective date of designation;
• Have continuously resided in the United States since a date specified by the Secretary of Homeland security; and
• Not be inadmissible to the United States or be barred from asylum for certain criminal or national security-related reasons, such as individuals who have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors.

 Nationals of a designated country do not automatically receive TPS, but instead must register during a specific registration period and pay significant fees. Citizens of Haiti currently have TPS until February 3, 2026. 

There are a few reasons:

1) There are typically 4 individuals living in a hotel room that is not a lot of space and enjoying the outdoors is preferred.

2) The Haitian culture is very social.

3) There is still deep trauma from the 2010 earthquakes.

Mayor Muryn, nor any other elected official in Findlay or Hancock County can detain an individual which has proper Federal Status without proper legal cause.

Immigration Policy is set at the Federal Level. If you would like to see changes to immigration policy please contact Congressman Bob Latta, Senator JD Vance or Senator Sherrod Brown to share your thoughts.