By Hank Russell
By a 246-160 vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that a local congressman said would protect communities from drunk drivers who are in this country illegally.
The House passed H.R. 875, the Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act, on June 26. This piece of legislation, sponsored by Barry Moore (R-Alabama), would make driving under the influence grounds for deportation and inadmissibility. Further, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, in which any illegal alien who has been convicted of driving under the influence — whether under drugs and/or alcohol — would be deported and inadmissible.
The bill is named after Jeremy and Angel Seay, who were riding their motorcycle when they were struck and killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving a pickup truck while under the influence of alcohol in 2009, and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza, who was killed in a head-on crash in 2014 after an undocumented immigrant who was drunk behind the wheel was driving in the wrong lane.
“Drunk driving kills roughly 37 Americans every day, yet current immigration law does not clearly make DUI a deportable offense for illegal immigrants,” said Andrew Garbarino (R-Patchogue), who voted for the bill. “Like [my] POLICE Act, [this bill] ensures that illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes and endanger public safety are removed from our communities.” Garbarino’s POLICE Act passed 255-175 on May 17.
The president’s office issued a statement after the Act was passed.
“The lives of Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza were tragically cut short by an illegal alien under the influence behind the wheel,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, these are not the only lives lost as a result of illegal aliens driving under the influence. From fiscal years 2018 through 2023, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested over 43,000 illegal aliens for DUI offenses, underscoring the danger posed to the safety of our roads. This bill would fix an oversight in current law and would ensure that illegal aliens who senselessly endanger the lives of Americans are deemed inadmissible and removed from the country.”