FIRST ON FOX: Several lawmakers led by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, want to impose penalties against illegal immigrants convicted of deadly drunk driving incidents at the federal level, triggering deportation and preventing return to the United States.
Cornyn’s legislation would expand federal immigration law to treat serious drunk driving offenses that cause death or serious bodily injury as “aggravated felonies.”
“Zero mercy should be shown to illegal aliens who not only defy our laws by unlawfully entering the country, but also take it a step further to drive drunk, threatening American lives,” Cornyn said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“By strengthening current immigration law to hold these offenders accountable, our bill sends a clear message: If you enter the country illegally and harm innocent citizens, we will find you, we will punish you, and we will make sure you never step foot on American soil again,” he continued.
The measure, dubbed the Stop Illegal Aliens Drunk Driving Act, would add driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while impaired (DWI) offenses under the umbrella of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a law enacted in the 1950s that acts as the keystone for immigration laws in the country.
That decades-old law governs visas, green cards, and citizenship, among several other immigration enforcement matters.
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Cornyn’s measure would specifically add new aggravated offenses to the preexisting law that would lead to deportation, prevention of re-entry into the country and make a person ineligible for most forms of immigration relief if convicted.
Those offenses, specifically geared toward non-citizens, include convictions of DUI or DWI that resulted in death or serious bodily injury. Notably, the proposed legislation would enact the new penalties regardless of whether the conviction was a misdemeanor or felony.
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The lawmaker pointed to statistics and testimonials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas, in making the case for the legislation.
The DHS’ Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement last year noted that 15 people had been killed in relation to DUI and DWI incidents involving illegal immigrants over the last decade. The U.S. Attorney’s Office highlighted a specific incident, where an illegal immigrant with seven previous DWI convictions was able to re-enter the country after being removed three times prior.
Cornyn is joined by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Ted Budd, R-N.C., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., John Kennedy, R-La., Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., in support of the legislation.
Notably, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is the lone Democratic cosponsor on the bill.
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