The Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act would, if enacted, amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make noncitizens convicted of, or admitting to, offenses related to driving while intoxicated or impaired both inadmissible and deportable, including those with permanent residency, or green cards.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The measure that in June overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives would alter long-standing deportability standards by applying immigration consequences to a single DUI conviction or an admission of conduct, regardless of whether the offense was classified as a misdemeanor or felony under state, local, tribal or federal law. Advocates said the change could affect large numbers of lawful permanent residents, international students and other visa holders who have past DUI records.
President Donald Trump has prioritized the removal of violent offenders and the “worst of the worst” from U.S. soil. Some cases involving nonviolent immigrants lacking criminal records have spurred legal concerns and sparked conversations about whether immigrants, in certain instances, who lack citizenship but have abided by all other U.S. laws, should be removed.
Data shows growing arrests of people without U.S. criminal charges or convictions, raising legal and policy questions about resources, detention capacity and humanitarian oversight.
What To Know
The original bill (H.R.6976) was introduced in January by Representative Barry Moore, an Alabama Republican. It passed the House in June before referral to the Senate, where Senator Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, introduced companion legislation to both prevent illegal immigrants who have committed DUI from entering the U.S. and to automatically deport illegal immigrants who commit DUI within the United States.
Hagerty’s legislation is cosponsored by Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Katie Britt (Alabama), Ted Budd (North Carolina), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), Deb Fisher (Nebraska), James Lankford (Oklahoma), Mike Lee (Utah), and Thom Tillis (North Carolina), and Marco Rubio of Florida, who is now secretary of State.
Newsweek reached out to Hagerty’s office via email for comment.
H.R.6976 proposes two principal changes. First, it would have expanded inadmissibility under U.S. code to include any alien “convicted of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts constituting the essential elements of driving while intoxicated or impaired.”
Second, it would expand deportability to cover any alien convicted of an offense related to driving while intoxicated or impaired, regardless of local classification.
Supporters frame the bill as a public‑safety measure and won backing inside the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), while critics, including immigration attorneys and advocacy groups, warn that the language could sweep in long‑past conduct and admissions that previously had not triggered deportation.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 43,000 noncitizens on DUI charges between 2018 and 2023, according to the OMB.
“Dangerous behavior by illegal immigrants could put Americans at risk of death or serious bodily injury and should therefore affect the allocation of immigration enforcement resource. Good moral character is required on someone who is not born in the USA to become a citizen. DUI is not an offense to be taken lightly, and it should be a basis for barring someone from being a citizen,” former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Peter Lumaj told Newsweek on Monday.
“But the most important support that this bill could get is the American people, who are tired of the non-American citizens and illegal aliens causing chaos and tragedies in our communities. Day after day, we hear that non-Americans are causing injuries and deaths to American citizens…Passing this bill would not make the system more chaotic, but it would keep our communities safe.”
What People Are Saying
U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, in a statement in February 2024: “Our nation is seeing a surge in violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants, and they are not being held accountable. It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants that break our laws and endanger our communities are allowed to remain in the U.S. President Biden and Democrats’ willingness to pursue far-left immigration policies at the expense of Americans’ safety must end, and I’m pleased to introduce this common sense legislation that would strengthen our ability to hold illegal immigrants accountable and protect our citizens.”
Immigration-based law firm Landerholm Immigration, in an online alert to clients: “One of the most alarming parts of this bill is that you don’t even need a conviction to be targeted. If you’ve ever admitted to drinking and driving, that alone could make you inadmissible to the US. Even if the charges were dropped. Even if you took a plea. Even if it happened many years ago. This is an extremely broad and harsh standard.
“The bill turns nearly every DUI case (even a single offense) into a serious immigration issue – be it for green card holders, for undocumented immigrants, for those applying for a visa or adjustment of status, those returning from travel abroad.”
Immigration attorney Joseph Tsang, on social media: “A DUI could get green card holders deported, even from ten years ago! If it becomes law, anyone who is not a US citizen – be they green card holders, international students or H-1B workers could become inadmissible and deportable for having a DUI on record.”
Tsang added: “The intent is to make our communities safer and that is a goal we all share. The core issue here is proportionality and process. This bill skips context. It skips rehabilitation. It skips due process.”
What Happens Next
The legislation is being considered by the Senate after House action. It would require further legislative steps in the Senate and the president’s signature to become law. There is no current timetable for potential bill passage.
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