The House approved a Republican-proposed bill Thursday with support from 59 Democrats that would indefinitely deport undocumented immigrants who are charged with driving under the influence in the United States.
“In the United States, someone dies in a crash with an impaired driver every 45 minutes. I lost two of my young newlywed constituents to an illegal immigrant driving under the influence of alcohol,” Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL), who brought forth the legislation, told Fox News.
While it was primarily Republicans in favor of the measure, the final tally of votes was 274-150. All Alabama House Republicans voted in support of the bill, and the state’s lone Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell opposed it, 1819 News reported.
The proposal follows a drunk driving incident that took place last month where an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who had previously been deported four times, allegedly killed a mother and her son in a car crash where authorities say alcohol was involved.
Immigration and border security have been points of contention for lawmakers recently, as Republicans demand tougher restrictions on immigration. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) accused President Joe Biden in a speech Wednesday of intentionally allowing an open border and called for him to put forth an executive order to combat the country’s migration crisis.
“They made it a campaign issue when Biden came in on day one. … Biden has every tool in the toolbox to shut the southern border down … we don’t need more money, we need to apply the laws that are on the books,” Moore said.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been pointing the finger at Johnson and Republicans for perpetuating the immigration problem, blaming their unwillingness to approve funds that Democrats claim would solve the issue. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing Wednesday that the GOP is keeping Biden from deploying resources to the border.
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“They don’t want to solve the problem; they want to keep the problem going as a campaign issue,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said while discussing the bill. “So don’t come up here and talk about the problems on the southern border if you won’t give the president any means to deal with it.”
The legislation will head to the Senate next, where there are no imminent plans to address it, Politico reported.
