On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill strengthening immigration laws to make it easier to deport or prohibit noncitizens convicted of drunk driving from receiving citizenship.
The legislation was approved by a vote of 274 to 150, with the support of all 215 Republicans and 59 Democrats, moving forward to the Senate for approval.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote in a January 28 note outlining the bill's provisions, "Every day in the United States, around 37 people die due to a drunk driver - that's one person every 39 minutes. Drunk driving is a dangerous crime that not only puts the driver at risk but everyone else on the road."
DUI convictions are already grounds for deportation under certain circumstances, and people seeking residency are currently aware that a DUI conviction may hamper their ability to reestablish their status.
The legislation clearly defined DUI convictions as rounds for inadmissibility and removability, and the authorities now have an additional tool to protect communities from dangerous criminal aliens. The bill seeks to prevent further tragedies while holding individuals accountable for their actions.
Republicans cited the "Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act" as an urgent need to protect American lives and prevent DUI-related accidents from causing further harm. The Senate is expected to undergo further consideration before passing it into law, which will improve public safety across the US.
However, the legislation passed by the House resolves inconsistencies between state and federal laws that allow DUI convictions from the past to be ignored during immigration processes.
Furthermore, it makes all misdemeanor DUI crimes inadmissible for status adjustments and grounds for deportation. If passed further, the legislation will also have an impact on people who are currently in the country and are trying to change their status.
Scalise said in his preview that people would think that if an illegal immigrant were caught driving under the influence, they would be deported and barred from reentering the country. Unfortunately, he claimed that is not always the case.
While the criteria do not prohibit DUI offenders from being deported, they do require authorities to give priority to those who endanger public safety. The program also prioritizes deporting those considered dangerous to the nation's or the border's security.
Rising DUI-Related Crimes
According to the legislation, alcohol-related deaths increased by 14% in 2021, resulting in 10,850 deaths annually on average between 2012 and 2021. Thirty-one percent of all crash deaths in the country are caused by drunk drivers, which poses a severe risk to public safety.
Recent data from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indicated that in fiscal year 2018, ICE arrested immigrants with criminal histories that included 80,730 DUI-related charges and convictions. Criminal and illegal aliens have not been excluded from these preventable accidents.
In fiscal year 2019, this number remained alarmingly high at 74,523. However, the number fell to 26,238 in fiscal year 2022 under a perceived relaxation of immigration enforcement, potentially opening the door for additional illegal aliens with DUI-related charges and convictions to commit crimes again.
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