The House of Representatives, with a Republican majority, approved this Thursday a controversial bill that seeks to deport immigrants convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI).
It is unclear what future the measure has in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Measure HR6976 was approved by 274-150 votes, the vast majority being Republican.
It had the support of 59 Democratic representatives.
“This bill makes driving while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol grounds for (1) barring a non-U.S. national (an alien, under federal law) from entering the United States, or (2) deporting to the individual,” details the text of the legislation.
And it clarifies that, for an individual to be eligible for deportation, he or she
“must have been convicted”
of a crime related to a DUI.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., criticized the measure in a statement, suggesting it has racist overtones.
“This would mean that our immigrant neighbors who came here legally and have resided in our communities for decades
could be deported and torn from their families
due to a misdemeanor DUI conviction, creating a separate and unequal justice system,” he argued. .
But Representative Barry Moore, Republican of Alabama and the main promoter of the bill, justified the measure in statements to the conservative network Fox News.
“In the United States, every 45 minutes someone dies in an accident with a drunk driver,” he said.
About 1 million arrests are made each year in the United States for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, there are no figures that establish that immigrants are overrepresented in the numbers.