Congressman Flake Introduces Legislation to Crack Down on Illegal Immigrant DUIs
Repeated DUIs Will Be Deportable Offense
Washington, D.C.,
Jan 14 -
Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, has introduced legislation that makes repeated convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) a deportable offense for noncitizens.
Under current law, DUI convictions that are not an aggravated felony carry no immigration penalties or consequences. H.R. 373 increases penalties for legal and illegal immigrants by making three DUI convictions a deportable offense.
“It defies logic that an illegal immigrant repeatedly convicted of drunk driving wouldn’t be deported,” said Flake.
“Arizona is in desperate need of comprehensive immigration reform. However, until we can enact comprehensive reform, we need to move ahead on commonsense fixes like this.”
H.R. 373 was a provision of the STRIVE Act, which Congressman Flake introduced with Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois in 2007.
